Twilight: Starry, Starry Night
by The-Doll-on-the-Shelf
Summary: A re-telling of the Twilight Saga starting with New Moon a short while after Edward has taken off and Bella is still shell-shocked from his departure. A second devastating event occurs in Bella's life that sends her over the edge, but is also the catalyst for something far more sinister. Please R&R.
1. Chapter 1

Greetings and salutations, my name is D.C. and this is my Twilight fanfic. I never thought I would write those words. Personally, I think the Twilight series, apart from the first book (which I did enjoy), is a bit rough around the edges. I think the premise of the series is fine (a romance with a twist), but the other elements of the books were not able to give enough of a contrast to the main plot and this made the three books after Twilight difficult to get through.

So, as I was lamenting this to a friend, she told me that if I didn't like the way the series turned out, then I should re-write it and give a more satisfying conclusion. As a result, this story has been created. It begins during New Moon a short while after Edward has left fair Bella and she is in a downward spiral of depression and self-loathing. Let me know what you think (be kind with the fact-checking- I only read the books once so I may get some things wrong). Enjoy.

_Twilight: Starry, Starry Night_

Chapter 1

The coffee cup in Bella's hands shook as she watched the images on the television screen flash in front of her. A small whimper escaped her lips as she watched Forks High School crumble before her eyes, engulfed by flames that were taller than the trees in the background of the scene captured by the news camera. The water shooting from the hoses of the three fire trucks at the scene were having very little effect on the orange-red embers that had now collapsed the roof of the gym.

"No one is sure how the blaze behind me started!" the on-sight news reporter shouted over the roar of gushing water and flames, "the firefighters have successfully contained the fire, but the flames just won't go down. It's really hot down here and-"

Bella grabbed the remote from the coffee table in front of her and turned the television off. She brought the mug in her hands up to her mouth but couldn't bring herself to take a sip from it and chose to place it beside her on the end table next to the couch where she was sitting. She ran both her hands through her hair and took several deep breaths as she processed what she had just seen. The moment her mind wandered to the first time she had been in the Forks High cafeteria and saw _him_ was enough to trigger a waterfall of tears that cascaded down her face and into her sweat-pants clad lap.

She sat in the dimly lit living room and cried softly, clutching herself and sinking back into the couch as far as she could. She pulled her knees up to her chest and laid her head against them as she realized that the place where she had met Edward was burning to the ground. With this realization, Bella let out a scream of frustration into her knees and banged one of her fists into the soft material of the couch.

"This can't be happening," Bella said softly to herself, "it just can't be."

As she continued to cry, she heard the front door of her house open quietly and then close in the same manner. She quickly wiped the tears from her face with the sleeve of her worn, long-sleeved t-shirt and turned her head toward Charlie as he walked somberly into the living room. He looked at her obviously red face and chose not to acknowledge it as he took a seat in the recliner adjacent to the couch where Bella was sitting.

"Did you see the news?" Charlie asked, leaning forward toward Bella.

"About the school?"

"Mm-hmm,"

"Was it arson?"

"We can't be sure until the fire gets put out and we can get in there and see. So far, it seems like an accident-faulty wiring or a gas leak most likely."

"What about classes?"

"Don't know. But it's probably a good bet that you won't have school tomorrow."

Bella nodded and looked away from Charlie and down at the floor in front of the couch. She felt Charlie's gaze, but she couldn't bring herself to look in his direction again. She knew that her recent behavior brought on by Edward's disappearance had caused Charlie more stress and suffering than he deserved, but Bella could not find a way to stem her overwhelming emotions. Edward's absence had left a large, gaping hole in her life that refused to heal, and only seemed to grow larger each day that went by without him.

"Well," Charlie said, clearing his throat to end the awkward silence, "I need to get some sleep. There's probably going to be a lot of paper work to go through tomorrow so…"

"Yeah, of course, uh, sleep well."

"You too, Bells, if you need anything, let me know."

Bella nodded emphatically and watched as Charlie rose from the recliner and listened as he walked up the staircase to his bedroom. As soon as she heard his door close she threw herself against the back of the couch, holding back a scream until she could grab the ornamental pillow beside her to muffle it. She threw herself against the couch three more times before rolling off of it and onto the floor, still clutching the pillow to her face to dampen her sobbing.

Every day Edward had been gone had been hard for Bella, but tonight was the first night she felt as though there was no reason for her to continue living. Even with the anguish that consumed her day after day, at least Forks High School allotted her a moment of relief by reminding her that he existed. She could visit every single area of the school he visited, sit in the chairs that he once sat in, and touch the surfaces he once touched. With the school quickly burning to the ground, so were the last fragments of Bella's sanity.

Bella threw the ornamental pillow she had muffled her screams with against the wall to her right and pushed herself up and off the floor. She took a moment to steady herself and took a few deep breaths before setting her sights on the kitchen door way that was across the room. She stood quietly for a moment, almost fully eclipsed by the darkness despite the lamp giving off a faint light a few feet from her.

She took a tentative step toward the doorway, almost wishing there was something to hold her back. Nothing did. She took another step. Two steps. Nothing. She took another deep breath and took two more steps toward the doorway. She now found herself within a few inches of it. Waiting one more moment for anything to give her a reason to stop herself, Bella closed the distance and walked into the kitchen.

It was dark, with only the light of the moon filtering in through the window over the sink and the faint glow of the time flashing on the front of the microwave situated on the counter. The only sound to be heard within the room was the dull hum of the refrigerator and Bella's own baited breath as her eyes drifted over the countertop. Her sight soon fell upon the butcher block next to the sink that held the larger, rarely used, knives.

As if in a trance, Bella walked toward the unassuming object and, upon approaching it, ran her hand over each of the handles of the knives contained within it. She traced each one individually, gently, with an unsettling reverence. She then grasped the handle of the butcher knife and slowly pulled it out of its sheath, its luster gleaming by the light of the moon.

She stumbled backwards, stunned by her own boldness, and backed up until she was against a wall. She slid down the length of the wall, grasping the knife's handle tightly, until she was on the floor. She held the knife in front her, waving it back and forth in front of her face, quietly pondering its sharp edges and expert design. It was a fitting tool with which she would end her tiresome misery.

"Soon, it will all be over." Bella said to herself very quietly.

Bella brought the knife up to her left arm and rested the blade against her wrist. With one more deep breath, she raised the knife up, turned it blade down and began to bring it back down. As she did, she closed her eyes, prepared to feel the physical pain that would reflect and sustain the emotional agony she had gone through these past few weeks.

The pain never came. Bella felt the weight of the knife in her hand and a distinct dripping noise, but not the excruciating torture that should have resulted from the blade slicing into her. Perplexed, she opened her eyes and glanced at her wrist. From what she could see in the darkness, it was pale and untouched, with no visible cut or present blood. Even more confusing was the knife itself. She should have felt it against her skin, but there was no such pressure, but she still heard the sound of something dripping.

In frustration, Bella used her free hand to slide up the wall and fumble around for the light switch to turn on the overhead light. As soon as her fingertips grazed it, she flicked it on and, when her eyes adjusted to the light, gasped in horror when she looked at her right hand. The metal of the butcher knife had almost completely melted off the handle and was the source of the dripping noise that Bella had heard in place of her own blood.

She dropped the handle of the knife onto the floor and suppressed a scream as she watched the puddle of liquid metal that had accumulated on her linoleum floor begin to swirl and move around. The watery substance began to spread out in front of Bella and she could only look on open-mouthed and in shock as it began separating itself into recognizable letters of the alphabet. As the letters formed, they began to move and rearrange themselves first into words and then came together to form a sentence at the base of her feet.

"Soon, it will begin," Bella whispered, reading the metallic words in front of her.

Suddenly, Bella felt her lungs seize and she fell over onto her side gasping for air. Her entire chest felt as though it were being crushed by a one-ton boulder, making it impossible to breathe. In her panic, Bella flopped onto her stomach and reached out with both her hands to attempt to crawl to the phone that was hanging on the wall opposite of her, but ended up with both hands in the metal liquid in front of her.

The heat of the liquid was intense and scalded both of Bella's hands upon impact, causing her fall back onto her back. Unable to make a sound, Bella lay on the floor in agony with this new pain that only made her breathing situation worse. She was rapidly losing consciousness and had to think quickly before she blacked out, but all she could come up with was an old memory.

It was a memory of a much younger Bella sitting on a porch swing with her mother, Renee, during a rain storm. Bella was upset about something and Renee was attempting to comfort her.

"_Bella, it will be all right."_

"_No, it won't. I'll never see him again."_

"_Of course you will. We will come back and visit, you'll see."_

"_Do you promise?"_

"_Of course, besides, you know what I always say…when the cares of the world weigh you down, just pick them up and throw them out." _

Bella clung to this last phrase of her memory as she felt her struggle coming to a close. In one final act of desperation, Bella reached her arms out, grasped on either side of her body as if an object was lying on top of it and pretended to lift it up and off of her. As soon as she did this, the pressure was gone and she was able to catch her breath.

Bella remained on the ground for a few minutes as her lungs brought in copious amounts of oxygen into her system and she was able to reclaim a clear train of thought. Looking around, Bella noticed that the metal pool that had produced the message and she had scalded her hand on was no longer present on the floor. It had vanished completely.

"Where did it go?" Bella wondered aloud, scanning the entire kitchen, her heart rate picking up.

As she pondered this question, she heard a dripping noise- the same dripping noise that the butcher knife had made when it had melted off the handle. Frantic, Bella stood up; clutching her hands tightly against her because of the throbbing pain they were in from the initial contact with the substance. She turned in a complete circle, looking around the kitchen for the source of the dripping, but could not locate it.

Then, without warning, Bella felt a drop of something fall onto her shoulder, burning her through the thin material of her long-sleeved shirt. Bella seethed in pain and stumbled forward, clutching her shoulder with one of her sensitive hands, tears stinging the corners of her eyes. It was then that she heard a drop, similar to a raindrop, fall onto the floor to her right and then another one to her left.

Bella shut her eyes tightly for a moment and let out a whimper before lifting her head and looking up at the kitchen ceiling. As she had expected, the silver pool was above her. Tears flooded from her face and she let out a scream as the metallic substance fell on top of her.

/\\\

Love it? Hatin' it? Let me know with a review if you are so inclined.


	2. Chapter 2

_Twilight: Starry, Starry Night_

Chapter 2

"Bella? Bella? Come on, wake up!"

Bella's eyes snapped open as Charlie gently shook one of her shoulders. Bella looked up at him confusedly, panting heavily, before leaning up and taking in her surroundings. It was morning, as evidenced by the dull gray skies peeking in through the nearest window and Bella was most definitely in her bed and not in the kitchen as she had been in her supposed dream. Her room looked the same as ever, but Bella felt that something was definitely amiss, for everything was as it should be but not at the same time.

"Bella? Are you okay?" Charlie asked concernedly.

"Uh, yeah," Bella replied, fluttering her eyes a few times to shake the tiredness she felt, "why do you ask?"

"You were screaming in your sleep, _again,_"

"Oh," Bella replied quietly, looking down at her comforter, "sorry, I had this crazy upsetting dream about the school burning down. I'm sorry if I worried you. It's nothing, really."

"Dream? Bells, we talked about this last night."

"Talked about what?"

"The fire at the school. I got home at around ten, we talked about it, and then we both went to bed."

"Last night?" Bella clarified.

"Mm-hmm,"

"There really was a fire at the school?"

"Yeah, and they just managed to put it completely out an hour ago. The firefighters were unable to save anything. There's nothing left except the foundation and a few charred desks."

Bella felt numb. It hadn't been a dream. The school was really gone. Despite the overflowing emotions of despair and hopelessness that this realization brought upon her, Bella's focus remained fixated on the 'dream' she had just been woken from. It was outrageous to think that the event that happened after Bella and Charlie's supposedly real conversation had truly occurred, but everything that had happened in the kitchen with the metallic pool had been so vivid and exact. Bella could recall every detail, emotion, and pain she had felt during that time, but it must have been a dream. No other explanation made any sense.

"Bella, are you sure everything is okay?"

Bella pulled herself away from her thoughts and looked up at Charlie and gave a small smile.

"I'm fine, really. Do you know what they are going to do about classes? Are they moving us to another building to finish out the year?"

"Actually, that's what I need to talk to you about."

"Why? What's going on?"

Charlie sighed and got up off the floor where he had been kneeling next to Bella's bed. He walked over to Bella's cluttered desk on the opposite side of the room, grabbed the chair that was situated underneath it, and dragged it over next to the bed where he had been kneeling previously. He sat down in the chair and leaned forward toward Bella with his hands on his knees, much like he had last night when he had informed her about the fire.

"There isn't a building in town that is large enough to accommodate all of the students and faculty at Forks High School for the remainder of the school year and it will take at least a year for the new high school to be built."

"So…what are my options?" Bella asked nervously, dreading what Charlie had to say next.

"Well, the school board came out with a statement for us parents saying we could either home school for the remainder of the year or send you guys to a different district to finish out the year."

"Do I get to pick which one I want to do?"

"Not exactly," Charlie said, taking a deep breath, "you know with my job I'm not around enough to teach you myself, not to mention the fact I'd be terrible at it. So, as you can imagine, home schooling is off the table."

"Then what, do I have to go to another school in a different district?"

"That's where the other issue comes in. The closest district that has offered to take in students is in Port Angeles, which is over an hour away from here."

"No way," Bella said automatically, "that's not even a consideration. I'm not leaving Forks." Bella folded her arms defiantly as her breathing became erratic and her heart rate sped up.

"Bells, either way you are going to have to leave Forks because I talked to your mom this morning and she was quite vocal about you not going to Port Angeles for school. She wanted you to come back to Arizona to finish out high school there."

"This morning?" Bella glanced at the clock on the nightstand to her left and saw that it was almost 1 in the afternoon, "but how could she offer that? Isn't she still out with Phil on the road?"

"She said she was willing to come home and stay with you if it meant you not having to go to Port Angeles for school."

"I told you, I don't want to leave Forks. And if mom doesn't want me to go to Port Angeles, then why did you bring it up as an option in the first place?"

"After I got off the phone with your mom I got a phone call from Sarita Kayes. She's your mom's cousin and she lives in Port Angeles. She heard about the school fire on the news and knew from your mom that you were here and offered to let you stay at her house if you wanted to attend school in Port Angeles."

"Sarita? Have I met her before?"

"You met her a long time ago as a toddler, but Sarita rarely leaves Port Angeles. This is the first time I have heard from her in close to fifteen years."

"Then why would she just offer a place for me to stay?"

"I don't know, Bella, but the Sarita I remember is a good-hearted person and this kind of generosity fits with her character. I personally think you should take her up on your offer."

"Does mom know about Sarita's offer?"

"Sarita said she'd give her a call, but, knowing your mom, she's probably going to insist you come back to Arizona."

"I'm not leaving here. I can't," Bella pleaded, "I just can't."

"Bella," Charlie said exasperatedly, "it's almost been a month since he left. He's not coming back."

"You don't know that," Bella said, tears welling up in her brown eyes and her face turning red, "what if I leave and he comes back? What happens then?"

"Bella," Charlie sighed, "look, I didn't mean to upset you, but you can't spend your entire life moping over this guy. Maybe a new start in Port Angeles will help you work things out."

Bella sniffed and wiped away some of her tears with the back of her hand.

"And, of course, you can always come home on weekends if you get homesick."

"Really?" asked Bella.

"Absolutely, you don't think I want to see you?"

A lump formed in Bella's throat when Charlie said this. The school burning down had also indirectly affected Charlie because it meant that, one way or another, Bella could not stay in Forks. She would have to leave for school and this meant leaving Charlie as well.

"I'm sorry, dad. I didn't even think about how this affected you."

"No worries, Bells, I'll be fine. As long as you find a weekend to visit me I'm happy. I'm just sorry that this whole mess happened."

"Me too," Bella mumbled.

The downstairs phone suddenly rang and Charlie let out another heavy sigh.

"That's probably your mom. She's adamant about you not going to Port Angeles. This will be the third time in four hours I have talked to her. I don't think we talked this much when we were married."

Bella gave a tiny smile as Charlie got up from the desk chair and carried it back to Bella's desk. He left the room swiftly and Bella listened as he quickly descended the stairs and picked up the downstairs phone.

Bella threw off her covers and got out of bed. As she did, she felt her stomach grumble loudly. She wasn't surprised, since it _was_ one in the afternoon and she had missed breakfast. Taking a moment to yawn and look around her room one more time, Bella walked out her doorway and directly down the stairs toward the kitchen.

As she approached the kitchen, she heard Charlie talking on the phone and stopped before entering the kitchen, choosing to lean against the wall outside directly outside of it and listen to the conversation.

"Renee, this is ridiculous, she will be fine with Sarita. It's only for the remainder of the school year and it's the best solution for the time being."

Bella frowned as she listened to the conversation. Normally, Bella's mother was a kind of 'free spirit' that went about things in a whimsical manner. Her objection to something as benign as Bella staying with a supposedly trustworthy family member was odd.

"I don't get what's so wrong about her staying with Sarita. You and her were practically joined at the hip when I met you."

Then there was Sarita. Bella had never heard of her or seen a picture of this woman in her entire life. Bella wondered why her mom had never mentioned this apparently important person in her life, especially considering that she was now offering her home to Bella.

"Well, listen, I need to get back to the station. I think she'll be fine for the time being. If she hates it after a week I'll let her know that she can go back to Arizona, is that fair?"

Bella took this final sentence as her cue to enter the kitchen. As she walked in, Charlie made his goodbye and hung up the telephone.

"Was that mom?" Bella asked casually, opening the fridge and looking over the contents within.

"Yep, and she still thinks it's a bad idea for you to go to Port Angeles for school."

"Why?" Bella asked, pulling out a package of lunch meat and an apple from the fridge drawers.

"I really have no idea. Your mom used to visit Port Angeles every summer to spend time with Sarita and moved there as a sophomore in high school to live with her. I can't imagine why she'd be so opposed to having you go there."

"Maybe it's the distance from you?" Bella offered, pulling out two slices of bread and laying them on a paper plate, "or it could be Sarita herself."

"I honestly don't know, Bells. She might just miss you and want you home."

"Well, I don't want to go to Arizona right now," Bella stacked a few pieces of the lunch meat on the bread, "and I really don't want to leave Forks, but I have to, and Port Angeles is the closest place I can go and still be able to get back here." Bella placed the lone slice of bread on top of the sandwich and pressed down on it.

"Well, at any rate, at least we can give it a try and see how it goes, right?"

"Yeah, of course," Bella said, putting on a fake smile to appease Charlie, though she felt sick at the prospect of leaving Forks for even a week at a time.

"Well, enjoy your lunch; I need to get back to the station. There's bound to be a mountain of paperwork because of this fire and I better start sorting through everything. Will you be okay here?"

"Mm-hmm," Bella said, taking a bite of her sandwich.

"Glad to hear it, I'll see you later," Charlie walked toward the back door of the kitchen and grabbed the dull, circular brass handle of the door. Before he turned it to open the door and leave, he looked back at Bella and said, "Also, I don't mind if you use one of the bigger knives to make dinner, but just make sure to put it back when you're done. I found the butcher knife on the floor this morning and almost cut my foot on it."

"Of-of course," Bella stuttered.

Charlie gave her a smile as he walked out the door and closed it behind him. As soon as he was out of sight, Bella dropped her sandwich onto her paper plate and ran to the garbage can to vomit.

/\\\

It didn't take Bella long to pack her things the next day when she and Charlie were to embark on their car ride to Port Angeles. She hadn't brought much to Forks when she came to live with Charlie, and with their arrangement for her come home on weekends she didn't see the need to bring everything with her.

As soon as Bella stuffed her laptop into her backpack and zipped it shut she swung it over her shoulder, turned off the light in her room, and headed downstairs into the living room. Charlie was there, reading the paper and drinking his morning coffee.

"Ready to go?" he asked.

"I think so," Bella sighed, looking around the familiar living room, "it doesn't make this any easier though."

"I know," Charlie sighed sadly, "but, no worries, just know that you can call anytime you need to if you get homesick."

Bella nodded and walked toward the front door, Charlie right behind her carrying her blue duffel bag filled with her clothes. When Bella opened the front door, she was shocked to see her old childhood friend, Jacob Black, on her doorstep with his hand up and ready to knock on the door Bella had just opened.

"Jake? What are you doing here?" Bella asked, her heart lifting slightly at the sight of her friend.

"You guys talk, I'm just going to go put this in the car," Charlie said quickly, scooting past Bella and descending down the porch stairs toward his police cruiser.

"I heard about the school burning down and my dad heard from Charlie that you were going to stay with a family member in Port Angeles so I figured I'd come by and wish you off."

"That's very sweet," Bella said quietly, flashing him a quick smile, "but, it's nothing, I'm only staying in Port Angeles during the week. I'll be home on the weekends."

"Really? That's great!" Jacob exclaimed, smiling broadly, "so it's not good-bye again like it was years ago?"

"Nope," Bella shook her head, "I'll be back here in just a few days."

"That's good to know. Is everything else all right?"

"Like what?"

"Like _his _departure, how have you been holding up?"

Bella stared at Jacob with as neutral an expression as she could muster. His reminder of Edward had been like a punch to the gut. With the school burning down, the weird dream, and the butcher knife debacle, Bella had somehow managed to suppress the melancholy emotions attached to Edward's absence.

"It's been hard, but, yeah, I'm dealing with it," Bella lied, attempting to look anywhere but Jacob's face. She ended up staring at her scuffed up sneaker.

"Well, if you need someone to talk to, just know that I'm here."

"Thanks Jake," Bella replied quietly, looking up at him with a gracious smile.

Jacob nodded and leaned forward, capturing Bella in a warm embrace. Bella gratefully accepted the hug and squeezed him tightly back before letting go.

"See you later Bella. Have a good time in Port Angeles."

"I'll try, thanks for everything, Jake."

He smiled and stepped aside, allowing Bella to pass by him and walk down the well-worn porch stairs and over to the police cruiser that was idling with Charlie in the driver's seat. She walked over to the passenger side, opened the door, and got in.

As she clicked her seat belt shut and Charlie pulled out of the drive way, Bella took one last look at the place she had called home for the past year. She took in the aged porch with the wood on each step curling up at the end, the roof that was in desperate need of a re-shingling, the gutters that were starting to come apart from the house, and the doorbell that hadn't worked since the day she had arrived. Each thing in turn made Bella genuinely smile, something that she hadn't been able to do in a long time. That old house held many memories for Bella, including memories of Edward, which made the home something to be treasured.

With one final wave to Jacob as Charlie drove down the road toward the highway, Bella was off to Port Angeles. A new town, a new home, and, more importantly, an escape.

/\\\

I hope it was worth your while to read this. Leave me a review and let me know what you think.

-D.C.


	3. Chapter 3

The car ride to Port Angeles was quiet and uneventful. Charlie and Bella did not say much, both preferring to listen to the gentle pitter patter of raindrops against the windshield as they cruised down the empty highway. The gray skies aptly described Bella's mood as the distance between her and Forks became greater and greater. The highway signs that they passed by informing them of the ever shrinking distance to Port Angeles made Bella anxious and uncomfortable.

"It's not forever," Bella said to herself as Charlie drove past a sign signaling there was five miles to Port Angeles, "it's just for a week at a time. You can do this."

Charlie closed the five mile distance quickly and the thick trees that had lined either side of the highway during their entire drive started to dissipate and were replaced by small, independent businesses and residential homes. Port Angeles was not a large town by any means, but it was far more vibrant because of the proximity to the water. There were dozens of souvenir stands and tourist attractions dotted along the main drag with flashy signs and eye-catching colors to lure in the passersby walking down the sidewalk.

"Are we almost there?" Bella asked Charlie as they drove past the last of the visible businesses on the street.

"Yep, just a few more minutes. Sarita lives just past the high school, so you can catch a glimpse of it as we go by."

As Charlie said this, the school came into view. It looked like any other school, a one-level large, grey building with the requisite menacing mascot painted on the largest visible wall. There was a parking lot off to the side packed with cars with and a cul-de-sac in front of the main doors with a flag pole situated in the center of it surrounded by a patch of grass.

"Seems fine," Bella said to Charlie, turning away from the side window and looking straight ahead.

Soon, Charlie turned left down a tree-lined street with more mature homes that were reminiscent of an older era. Each home was uniquely built with custom features that made each home stand out individually, but still gave the entire street a feeling of grandeur. Every yard was perfectly manicured and the sidewalks that ran along both sides of the street were free from cracks and weeds.

Charlie pulled over in front of one of these homes; a two-story home painted a gentle shade of blue, and turned off the cruiser. Bella remained in her seat despite hearing Charlie unclick his seatbelt, open his door, and then exit the vehicle. She was fixated on the blue home that she was staring at through the car window and the overwhelming panic she was now experiencing. She had arrived. She was no longer in Forks. She was in Port Angeles. She was an hour from home. Charlie was going to leave without her. She was going to be stuck.

Bella's breathing became ragged and her heart rate sky rocketed as these thoughts pelted her one after another. She clenched either side of her seat as she tried to calm herself down but she knew it was beyond her control. She was so out of it that she didn't notice when Charlie opened her door and began talking to her and trying to get her attention. She didn't hear the panic in his voice as he reached over her and unbuckled her seatbelt, trying to move her out of the car.

In the distance, Bella heard a second voice, a female one. She called out to Charlie, asking him what was wrong. She heard pounding footsteps across cement as the voice called to Charlie again, imploring him to answer. The footsteps soon faded and Bella found herself outside the cruiser, in her father's arms, looking up at him and seeing his lips moving, but not hearing the words he was saying.

A second face came into view. It was a pale, heart-shaped shape face with hazel eyes and long, dark brown hair. Bella had never seen this woman before, but the woman's eyes were filled with concern as she extended one of her hands and placed it on Bella's face. As soon as her hand came into contact with Bella's face, Bella's heart rate began to slow and her breaths became deeper and deeper. It was as though someone had injected a shot of calm through her veins and it was slowly spreading through her system, starting from her head and ending at her toes.

"Bella, come on, please say something," there was a hint of desperation in his voice.

"Dad," Bella leaned up quickly out of his arms and propped herself up two of her arms on the sidewalk concrete, "I'm so sorry, I don't know what came over me. I j-just panicked."

"It sounds like anxiety, Charlie," the mystery woman said, "and after your high school burning down and having to attend a new one, it's understandable."

"Still, you scared the hell out of me, Bells. Should we take her to a doctor?"

"Oh, that probably won't be necessary," the woman said genially, reaching over and patting Charlie's arm "if it happens again, maybe. Everyone feels overwhelmed every now and then."

"You're probably right," Charlie agreed, getting up from the sidewalk. Bella followed suit, quickly standing up and smoothing down her shirt as she looked at the smiling woman standing across from her. The woman was slender and of average height, with her hazel eyes now standing out dramatically against the waves of her long dark brown hair and high cheekbones. She was dressed casually, wearing dark, boot-leg jeans with a white, long-sleeved blouse and an open gray sweater vest.

"You must be Bella," she said, looking at Bella thoughtfully, "you probably don't remember me. It _has_ been close to fourteen years since you last saw me."

"Oh, of course," Charlie said, slightly embarrassed, "Bella, this is Sarita Kayes, your mom's cousin. Technically, your cousin too, I guess."

"No need for those formalities, Charlie. Just plain Sarita is fine for me. Do you guys want to come in? Do you need help carrying in any of your stuff, Bella?"

"I can get it, Sarita. She only brought a few things."

"If you're sure,"

Charlie nodded and turned around and grabbed the duffel bag and backpack that were lying on the grass next to the rear passenger wheel of the car. Once in hand, Sarita turned and began leading Charlie and Bella down the sidewalk toward her front door. As they neared the house and the porch steps, Bella still felt strangely calm, which was funny considering the fact that everything about moving to Port Angeles was still plaguing her thoughts in addition to what had just occurred with Sarita showing up and offering her own mystery diagnosis.

"Nice place you got here, Sarita." Charlie said as he looked around the tidy front porch with swings and planters on either end.

"Oh, thank you very much," Sarita replied sweetly, opening the ornate front door and ushering them both in, "but I can't take credit for the lawn or flowers. My gardener is to thank for that!"

Charlie and Bella walked into the front room and were greeted by a grand staircase that went up and twisted off to the left, exposing the entire length of the dark metal banister. The hallway in front of them was painted a honey color with wainscoting covering the bottom half of the wall and tastefully arranged artwork, all appearing to be done on canvas and encased in wooden frames, adorning the upper walls. The floor they were standing on was a dark walnut wood that complemented the wood on the staircase.

"Bella, why don't you go ahead upstairs," Sarita said as she closed the large door behind them, "I need your dad to sign some stuff for you- school things. My bedroom is the first door to the right at the top of the staircase. Feel free to pick any other free room. There are several."

Bella managed a pleasant smile at Sarita as she took her bags from Charlie and began walking up the grand staircase. Charlie and Sarita walked out of her sight down the long hallway. As Bella walked up the surprisingly noiseless stairs, she marveled at the beauty the home continued to deliver. A gorgeous glimmering chandelier hung down over the staircase as Bella rounded the gentle cornering of the stairs, the handrail, though it just seemed ordinary from the foyer, actually had an intricate pattern that had been inlaid into the wood.

At the top of the stairs, Bella found herself greeted by three paintings. Much like the paintings in the hallway that Bella had seen from the foyer, they were all painted on canvas and encased in dark frames. Around the edging of the frames was the same inlaid pattern that Bella had just looked at on the hand rail. One of the pictures depicted a pair of hands that were grasped in a handshake amidst a stark background. The only color came from the paleness of the hands and the light blue of the visible sleeves that were covering the arms. The painting next to this one contained a set of identical, ornately wrapped red boxes each sitting on top of a three-legged stool. They were mirror images of each other, with the exception of the box on the left that had a slight gold tinge around its edges. The final portrait held a vivid image of a feast, where fourteen people, seven on each side, sat in high backed chairs. The seven on the right all had full plates of food with their forks held in the air, laughing and conversing with one another. The seven on the left had empty plates, but held their forks in the air mocking the diners as they gave them devilish looks.

Bella pondered the paintings for a moment, running one hand over one of the wood frames and then staring at them all in succession. They were simple pictures, but Bella could not help but feel uncomfortable around them. Unlike the rest of the home which seemed warm and welcoming, these paintings seemed decidedly harsh and unwelcoming, though Bella could not figure out why.

"This is ridiculous," Bella muttered to herself, taking her hand off the wood frame and turning away from the pictures, "they're just paintings."

Bella took a left and began walking down the long hallway in search of a bedroom. She opened the first door- a three-piece bath. She opened a second door- a laundry room. When she opened her third door, she was relieved to finally find a bedroom.

The bedroom, like the rest of the house, was beautiful. The room had the same hardwood as the rest of the house complemented by white trim and crown molding on the ceiling. The room was a painted a light lavender color with the same intricate, interlocking pattern that the handrail and picture frames had had traced onto the walls in gold. The furniture in the room, a desk, a dresser, a four-poster bed, and two nightstands were all white with gold accents that matched the design etched on the wall. The main features of the room, however, were the fireplace and bay window.

Bella walked over the fireplace and looked it over. It was covered with a pristine white marble and was spotless, as if a fire had never been burned there. The mantle was white with the gold pattern, once again, etched into it. On top of the mantle were photographs encased in glass frames that featured a young Sarita playing in a sandbox, a middle-school aged Sarita tangled in a tree's branches, and a high-school aged Sarita with a large group of friends around a campfire roasting marshmallows.

Bella ran her hand along the entire length of the mantle as she walked over to the bay window. There was a convenient seat underneath the window that Bella chose to sit on as she looked out the window onto the backward. As Bella had expected, the backyard was as immaculate as the front yard with well-trimmed grass, healthy trees, and pops of colors from precisely arranged flowerbeds.

As Bella looked out over the yard, a soft knock came upon the bedroom door and Bella turned her head to see Sarita walk in.

"I see you picked out your room," Sarita laughed nervously, "is it to your liking?"

"Yeah, it's great. Everything looks…awesome." Bella finished lamely.

Sarita sighed and walked over to the window seat and sat on the other side of it, across from Bella. She pulled her knees up and leaned against the wall, giving Bella a sympathetic smile.

"I know this is a sucky situation, Bella, but you've handled it really well."

"Having a panic attack is handling it well?" Bella asked her incredulously.

"Actually, yes. I would be thrilled if that were the only issue the kids I work with face."

"You work with kids?"

"Yep, I'm actually the school guidance counselor so, unfortunately, you'll be seeing a lot of me inside and outside the house." Sarita smirked at Bella teasingly.

"Cool," Bella remarked.

They sat in silence for a moment, neither one wanting to be the next to speak. It was an incredibly awkward situation for both of them not having a pre-existing relationship or anything to speak about beside the fire. Bella glanced around the room trying to find a topic of conversation, when she suddenly remembered the paintings.

"Sarita, who did all the paintings in the house?"

"The paintings? My mother, actually. She was a fabulous artist."

"Did she make the stair railings too?"

"How did you know that?" Sarita asked, very impressed.

"The design on the stair railing is on the picture frames and on the walls in here. It's on the fireplace too."

"You're sharp," Sarita complimented, "she put that design on _everything_, even my lunchbox growing up."

"Why?"

"She thought it would ward off evil or something," Sarita shrugged, "I just figured it was her eccentricity at play so I didn't question it."

"Does she still paint?"

"She died a few years ago, sadly."

"I'm so sorry, that must have been hard."

"It was, but I'm just glad she left behind so much of her artwork for everyone to enjoy. I absolutely love the painting of the doves. You might have seen it coming up the stairs. It's the first painting of a set of three hanging on the wall at the top of the stairs."

"Doves?" Bella asked, "I didn't see a painting of any doves."

"Really? Well, come on then. You have to see it, it's just lovely!"

Sarita gently grabbed Bella's hand and urged her up. Bella tried to protest, but she suddenly felt very agreeable and allowed Sarita to lead her down the hall towards the staircase. When they stopped at the front of the stairs, Bella expected to see the painting of the hands, the gift boxes, and the feast, but was shocked to find that they weren't there. Instead, there was a painting of a pair of doves draped on top of each other with their eyes closed and exuding a sense of love and contentment. The painting that had featured the red boxes had been replaced with a generic flower painting, and the feast painting had been replaced with a painting of a sailboat at dusk.

"This is it," Sarita smiled lovingly at the painting, "the brush strokes are just outstanding. She actually won a prize for this, you know."

"That's impressive," Bella agreed, nodding her head despite her confusion, "but did you just put that painting there?"

"No, it's been hanging here for the past four years. I found it in storage and just couldn't leave it there to gather dust. I change out some of the other paintings from time-to-time, but not this one. Why?"

"No reason, I thought I saw a different painting up here, but I must have gotten it mixed up with another painting in the house."

"Oh, all right," Sarita agreed, "well, do you want something to eat? I can make you something, we can get take out, pizza, Chinese, your choice."

"I'm actually doing all right for now, thanks. I think I'm just going to unpack my stuff. Is my dad still here?"

"He actually just left. He got an emergency call from the station and had to take off. He told me to tell you he loves you though and that you can call him later if you need to."

"Sounds great," Bella lied, "well, I'm just going to you know-"

"Go right ahead, dear," Sarita said encouragingly, "I'll be downstairs if you need me."

Bella nodded and received another perky smile from Sarita before watching her walk down the stairs and out of sight. Bella looked back at the three paintings hanging on the wall and noted the doves, the flowers, and the sailboat. She felt an uneasy feeling come over her, not only from the tranquil paintings, but also from Sarita. There was something off about her and her home. Everything was _too_ perfect and she was _too_ nice.

Bella stared hard at the three paintings for another minute before turning away and walking down the hall toward her bedroom. She was tired. Tomorrow's trek to Port Angeles High School was not going to be easy, especially with Sarita in tow and a new student body to meet. Bella needed rest and, more importantly, time to think.

/\\\

Many thanks to all my readers and reviewers. I hope you enjoyed this chapter. Stay tuned for the next chapter, which will feature Bella making her debt at PA High School. R&R.

-D.C.


	4. Chapter 4

After Bella had taken the time to unpack her bags, she decided to go and explore the rest of the house. She ignored the three paintings as she made way down the winding staircase and into the foyer. She took a left and walked into what appeared to be a formal living room. The walls were painted a cream color that was slightly lighter than the honey color that Bella had seen everywhere else in the house with white trim that contrasted brilliantly against the dark floors. There was a large fireplace on one wall with a large white area rug in front of it surrounded by two long white couches across from each other with a coffee table separating them. Opposite the fireplace were two floor-to-ceiling bookcases crammed with an assortment of titles.

In the back of the room was a set of double frosted glass doors with a white marble chess set in the open area to the right of the door and a white baby grand piano in the space to the left near the fireplace. Bella walked over to the double doors and wasn't surprised to see that same non-sensical pattern etched around the border of the glass as well as around the wood door frame.

Bella shook her head and reached out to grab one of the attached glass doorknobs to open the door. She frowned when she realized the door was locked. She let out a sigh and turned around to head back to the foyer. Once there, she continued across the foyer into the formal dining room. It was painted red and had the same wainscoting as the hallway. The table was oval-shaped with a crisp white linen cloth and twelve high-backed chairs neatly arranged with a fresh flower arrangement in the center. This room contained more paintings, this time of a man playing a white piano with his back to the viewer and a little girl playing a violin. Bella left the room through an archway at the far end of the dining room and walked into the kitchen.

Once inside, she was greeted by an aroma of baked bread and fresh pasta. Looking around, she quickly spotted Sarita, who had just lifted the lid of a pot to stir whatever was inside. Sarita looked up at Bella and gave her a pleasant smile.

"Come on in, I'm almost finished!"

Obligingly, Bella walked over to the island where Sarita was now slicing olives and took a seat on one of the chairs situated on the other side of her. By now, Bella had become accustomed to the overall "perfectness" of Sarita's home, so the gourmet kitchen before her wasn't a shock. The cabinets went to the ceiling and were made of maple wood with the same pattern that had infiltrated practically all the surfaces in the home. The countertops were affixed with grey granite accented with a matching glass mosaic backsplash that went all the way around the u-shaped kitchen.

"All unpacked?" Sarita asked, chopping olives into halves one-by-one.

"Yeah, I didn't have much to unpack."

"That's what your dad told me. Maybe we can go shopping and help fill that dresser up?" Sarita lifted the lid of the pot and threw the sliced olives into it.

"Sure, sounds great," Bella agreed, though she secretly hated shopping.

Sarita smiled at Bella again as she stirred the contents of the pot and took a moment to smell the contents. She sighed contentedly before placing the lid back on.

"So Bella," Sarita said innocently as she walked over to the oven and pulled out a rack of garlic bread from the oven, "do you have a boyfriend?"

Bella's breath caught in her throat. She took a moment to steady herself before responding to Sarita's inquiry.

"No, I'm single."

"Me too," Sarita lamented, sprinkling some parsley on the bread, "oh well, maybe you'll meet someone at the high school. They have a lot of cuties on the swim team…or so I've heard."

Bella nodded, though she knew that there was no one in this world who could ever match Edward. He offered far more than any mortal man could ever think of when it came to love, devotion, and faithfulness. Bella had already had a taste of perfection when it came to men and it was doubtful that she could ever have a relationship as fulfilling as the one she had had with Edward.

"Bella, would you mind grabbing the salad from the fridge? We can eat in the dining room, if that's all right. I hardly ever get the chance to eat in there living by myself."

Bella tore herself away from her gloomy thoughts and got up from her seat to walk over to the fridge. She opened the door and grabbed the glass bowl filled with lettuce and a wide array of vegetables, closed the door, and walked into the dining room. Bella set the salad on the table next to the flower arrangement and took a seat in one of the chairs. Sarita bustled in and out for a few minutes, bringing in each dish of food and placing it carefully and precisely.

"Finally," Sarita let out a big tuft of air as she placed the bowl of garlic bread on the table, "let's eat!"

Sarita passed Bella a bowl of fresh tortellini and Bella politely took a scoop and placed it on her ceramic dinner plate. She poured a bit of the fresh marinara sauce Sarita had made on top of it and was greeted by a remarkable fragrance. She took her fork, stabbed a tortellini, and brought it to her mouth.

"This is really good," Bella said, stabbing another piece of the pasta.

"Thank you," Sarita said brightly, "it's an old family recipe. My mom used to make it all the time when I was younger."

"Did your mom do the paintings in here, too?" Bella asked, motioning to the piano and violin paintings.

"Absolutely, the man playing the piano is actually my father and that little girl with the violin is me."

"You play violin?"

"I used to, not anymore," Sarita said, shaking her head.

"Why don't you play anymore?"

"It's complicated, but, enough about me," Sarita said, steering the conversation, "how is your mom doing? I haven't talked to her in a while. Is she still with Phil?"

"Yeah, she's actually traveling with him at the moment with his baseball team."

"That's exciting," Sarita said, obviously feigning enthusiasm, "your mom never struck me as someone who'd marry a jock, but I'm happy she's happy." Sarita did a subtle eye roll as she finished her question.

"Phil's a nice guy," Bella said, putting her fork down on her plate and giving Sarita an incredulous look.

"I'm sure he is," Sarita said, "I'm just saying that, growing up with your mom, she wasn't into jocks."

"What was she into then?"

"Never mind, is she working? Does she have a job?"

"No, answer the question," Bella said boldly, "what was she into if she wasn't into jocks?"

"Why don't you ask her?" Sarita said coldly, her usual pleasant demeanor fading, "she'd be able to give you a better answer than me."

They both sat in silence for a few minutes, both of them just picking at the food on their plates. Bella looked over at Sarita and noticed that she was frowning and staring off into space. It was the first time in the brief time that they had been together that Sarita had expressed an emotion other than sympathy or over-the-top happiness. It made Bella wonder why it took the mention of her mom being married to Phil to change her mood so drastically.

"Bella," Sarita finally spoke, "I'm sorry," and it seemed like she truly meant it, "I didn't mean to offend you or your step-father. I'm sure he's terrific and loves your mom to death."

"It's okay," Bella said, although she was still a bit incensed at Sarita's comments, "but, I am curious, what was my mom like in high school?"

Sarita smiled and gave a small laugh, "Your mom was a real firecracker in high school. We had a _lot_ of fun together."

"What kind of stuff did you do?"

"The usual, went to a lot of movies, went on dates together, pulled pranks on the teachers we hated, and had a ton of sleepovers with our friends."

"My dad said that you guys lived together during high school."

"Indeed we did," Sarita said, taking a sip of water, "the room you're staying in is actually the bedroom she stayed in. We painted the room together when she got here- that's why it doesn't really match the house."

"I noticed," Bella said, wrinkling her nose and causing Sarita to laugh.

The two of them continued to talk throughout dinner and Bella enjoyed hearing Sarita reminisce about her times with Renee during high school. It helped to dissolve the barrier of awkwardness between them and also gave Bella a few hours of needed distraction. When dinner was finished and Bella went upstairs to bed, she felt better than she had in a long time. Slipping into her bed and laying her head against the pillow, Bella was greeted by a night of calmness and peace.

/\\\

The next day, despite her good fortune of having a good night's rest, Bella's anxiety kicked in as soon as she woke up. Breakfast was a much quieter affair than last night's dinner had been and Bella was well aware that Sarita was worried about her. Sarita had tried to drum up some enthusiasm, but all of her comforting and uplifting words fell on deaf ears. There was nothing Sarita could say that could quell Bella's nervousness about starting over at a new school.

As they got into Sarita's car and pulled out of the driveway, Bella did her best to stem her worry by gripping the strap of her backpack tightly. She was amazed her hand didn't break by the time Sarita pulled into the school parking lot and turned off the car.

"Bella," Sarita said, turning her head toward her, "I know I've said it a million times this morning, but it really will be fine."

"I know," Bella replied flatly.

Sarita reached over and placed a hand on Bella's shoulder. Bella felt remarkably comfortable when she did so and looked up at her and managed a smile.

"That's my girl," Sarita said teasingly, smiling back at her.

They both exited the vehicle and Bella followed Sarita closely as they crossed the road that led to the parking lot and football stadium behind the school. They walked in the front double doors amidst a throng of students being dropped off and made their way to the office. The halls of the school were packed with chatting students as well as teachers that were casually standing outside their doors welcoming students as they walked in.

Bella was amazed at the sheer size of the school itself, which was a far cry from the tiny building that had been Forks High School. The hallways here were twice as wide and contained twice as many lockers. Every corner they turned had another glass cabinet containing copious amounts of trophies from the various sports and academic teams that the school offered.

"We're almost there," Sarita said, checking her watch, "sorry for the long walk, but they added onto the school a few years ago and didn't think to move the main office to a more central location."

Soon, Bella and Sarita approached a wide, circular, open area with couches lining the walls and a large, solid white desk spanning the back side of the room. They walked up to the desk and were greeted by a middle-aged brunette woman with a bad perm. She was typing quickly on her computer and looked up when Sarita came into view.

"Hi Sarita, how can I help you?"

"Morning Olivia, this is my cousin's daughter, Bella," Sarita motioned to Bella, "she's attending school here now and I need a copy of her schedule."

"Oh, is she another one of the Forks transfers? That's too bad about the school fire."

"I agree, have any other students transferred from there?" Sarita asked casually as she waited for Olivia to go through the files on her computer.

"I have only seen two others from Forks today, a boy and a girl. Ah, here we go. I found it."

The printer located next to her computer whirred for a second before producing a piece of paper with Bella's schedule printed on it. Olivia handed it Sarita who handed it to Bella. Bella took the piece of paper and looked it over. It was, thankfully, the same schedule she had had at Forks. The only change on her schedule was lunch. At Forks, there was only one lunch period for all of the students. At Port Angeles, the lunch was divided into A,B, and C lunch, and Bella had been assigned B lunch.

"Thank you, Olivia," Sarita said sweetly, "What's your first class, Bella?"

"Chemistry," Bella replied, looking down at the paper, "and it's in room 215."

"Okay, that's not too far away. I'll take you there, but we need to hurry. I have a meeting soon and heaven knows that these meetings are _so_ important." Sarita rolled her eyes as she turned around and began walking away from the office. Bella followed behind her.

As Sarita walked briskly through the halls, Bella was amused at her ability to push through the crowd to get where she needed to go. She had no problem putting her arms out and separating groups of chatting students in the middle of the hall or telling a couple that was making out to stop spreading oral diseases. Eventually, Sarita stopped in front of a large metal door with the numbers 2-1-5 etched on its outside.

"Here we are, room 215," Sarita announced, turning around to face Bella and letting out a big sigh, "good luck, kid, you're going to need it with Mr. Trimas or, as my anger management kids call him, 'trimendously douchey'." Sarita put a hand over her mouth when she realized her slip in language and turned a bright shade of red.

Bella just smiled at her lapse and watched as Sarita shook her head and let out a small laugh herself, "Have a good day, Bella."

"You too," Bella responded.

Bella watched Sarita walk away and took a deep a few deep breaths before walking into her classroom just as the bell rang. She knew as soon as she entered the classroom that she was in trouble. Twenty worried pairs of eyes were on her as Bella looked around the classroom with uncertainty.

"Can I help you?" a stern voice asked.

Bella looked toward the front of the room where the voice had come from and was dismayed when she saw it had come from a six-foot, curly-haired redhead behemoth standing at the chalkboard. He had a yard stick in hand and a cold, cruel look across his face.

"Uh, I'm in your class," Bella said, extending her schedule toward the monster.

"I'm more interested in your name. You do have one, don't you?"

"Yes," Bella replied quietly.

"And it is?"

"Bella Swann".

"How delightful," the man replied sarcastically, "with a name like that I'm not surprised that you're late. Frankly, I'm surprised you even found your way here. Birds aren't exactly the brightest animals on the planet. So, _Miss Swann_, why are you late to my class on this morning of mornings?"

"Um, I had to go by the office and, uh-"

"Could you possibly string a sentence together?"

"I had to go by the office and get my schedule." Bella managed to get out.

"Oh, a newbie, eh? You must be one of the Forks kids, I take it?"

"Yeah," Bella said quietly, looking down at the ground.

"Well, I don't know they run things in Forks, but here in Port Angeles we get to class on time ready to work. Do you think you handle that?"

Bella stared at him, unable to speak. She stared at ground, wishing she was anywhere but here.

"If speaking is too hard, you can always move your head up and down for 'yes' and side to side for 'no', no pressure though."

Bella remained in place. She could find no words to say.

"Do you think you can manage to find your seat? It's only three feet away." he pointed to an empty seat in the front row.

Bella turned from him and walked over to the empty desk. The students around her gave her sympathetic looks as she sat down, willing herself not to cry. The teacher rolled his eyes as he turned his back to the students and continued to write a chemical equation on the board. Bella put her head in her hands, humiliated, and didn't look up from the tan surface of her desk for the remainder of the hour.

/\\\

As soon as the bell rang, Bella grabbed her bag and made a quick exit out of the room. She wanted to get as far away from that monster teacher as possible. She took her schedule out of her binder as she rushed down the hall and looked for her locker number, it was 4150. Luckily, all of the turns she had taken in her haste to get away had landed her in the 4000 locker section. It didn't take her long to find locker 4150.

She quickly input the combination, but the locker didn't open. Bella started over and carefully slid the dial around to each of the numbers, but it was to no avail. She tugged on the lock sideways, up and down, but it did not budge. Exasperated beyond belief, she smacked her hand on the locker door. All she gained was a sore hand.

"Having trouble?"

Bella turned to her left and jumped when she realized the person who had just spoken to her was less than an inch away from her face. This person, a slightly overweight girl, had a huge grin plastered across her face that stretched as far as the sparkly green glasses she had on. Her dark brown hair was pulled back into a bun with a green ribbon that matched her corduroy overall dress she was wearing. She wore a white, long-sleeved shirt underneath the overalls with white tights finished off with a pair of battered, brown sandals.

"Excuse me?" Bella asked, slightly afraid.

"Oh, sorry," the girl tittered, "I should introduce myself. My name is Kate Azalea Flowers and you must be Bella Marie Swann, right?" the girl said this all very quickly.

"How did you know that?"

"Oh, sorry," she laughed nervously, "My dad is a florist and manages your cousin Sarita's lawn and garden. She told him about you coming and then he told me. And, as President of the Student Relations committee, it is my solemn duty to help all transfer students acclimate to the Port Angeles High School environment. Now, what is wrong with your locker?" she asked forcefully, yet still beaming proudly at her title.

"Uh, I can't open it." Bella said, dumbfounded at Kate's proclamations.

"Hmm…" Kate looked at the lock thoughtfully, putting an index finger to her lips and tapping it, "these lockers _can_ be tricky, but, why don't you try it again?"

Bella complied, putting in all the numbers once more and then pulling on the lock as she had done previously. She was amazed when the lock immediately opened. Kate smiled proudly.

"Um, wow, thanks,"

"It is absolutely no problem. I am super happy to help."

"Well, I should probably be going," Bella said, trying to find a graceful way to leave Kate's presence, "I need to get to my next class."

"Oh, well, where is it? I can help you find if you want,"

"I think I can manage. It's okay."

"No, really, I want to help. It's my _job_ to help."

"Kate, really, I-"

Bella stopped speaking and froze in place when her eyes strayed to the hallway and she saw two identical blonde cheerleaders turn the corner from an adjacent hallway. It wasn't their uniforms or even the entourage of boys following them that made them stand out. It was their snow white skin and earth-shattering beauty that had stunned Bella into silence, for these two girls were on par with the woman that Bella had once felt was the most beautiful person in the world.

/\\\

Another chapter down and quite a few more to go. Thank you to all the reviewers who have taken time to look over my work. I hope it has been worthwhile.

-D.C.


	5. Chapter 5

"Bella? Is everything all right?"

Bella did not respond to Kate's inquiry. She was transfixed on the two beautiful girls that were now walking past her. From a distance, they had looked beautiful, but now, up close, their beauty seemed unearthly. The flocks of males following them were doing their best to get their attention, but the girls never acknowledged them. They simply kept walking, both never saying a word. It wasn't until they had already departed from Bella's view that she mentally kicked herself for not looking at their eyes. If they were vampires, then their eyes would be a dead giveaway.

"Oh, I see you've fallen victim to the 'Ferro-mones'," Kate said amusedly, leaning against the locker next to Bella's.

"What?" Bella asked, turning her attention back to Kate.

"'Ferro-mones, as in you got caught in the magical mists of Lana and Lia Ferro that cause men to spiral down into madness trying to impress them and leaves women wishing a speedy, if not gruesome, death upon them."

"Do they always have an entourage everywhere they go?"

"Pretty much," Kate confessed, "but, look at them, they _are_ pretty," she said bitterly, her upper lip curling.

"I take it you've never succumbed to the 'Ferro-mones'?" Bella asked.

"Nope," Kate shook her head, "thankfully, I'm immune. Though I wish I could create a vaccine for the rest of the student body…" she trailed off.

Bella glanced at her watch and saw that it was now one minute until her next class started. She panicked, not wanting a repeat of her earlier class and had no choice but to turn to Kate for help.

"Kate," Bella asked, "do you know where room 104A is?"

"Of course!" Kate replied excitedly, "I'm in that class this hour too! Let's go!"

Before Bella could respond, Kate grabbed Bella's arm and started pulling her down the hall. Kate was just as impressive as Sarita when it came to maneuvering the halls and they arrived at the classroom in no time at all. Kate led Bella into the classroom and down the second row of desks and practically threw her in the desk next to hers just as the bell rang.

"Thanks," Bella said, panting.

"No problem," Kate said brightly, "I'm always happy to help."

Bella looked around the room and was 99% sure that it belonged to an English teacher. The wall nearest to her was lined with bookcases jammed full of battered copies of Shakespeare, Edgar Allen Poe, and Lord of the Flies. The remaining walls were covered with a large mural that depicted famous scenes from The Odyssey, A Wrinkle in Time, and other classic novels.

"Hey Kate," Bella asked, "what's the teacher like that teaches this class?"

"Mrs. Mole? She's very quiet, but also really nice."

"Thank goodness,"

"Bad experience with your first-hour teacher?"

"To say the least," Bella said bitterly.

"Oh, you had a run-in with the 'trim-endous' douche?" Kate asked sympathetically.

"Does everyone call him that?"

"His own _mother_ calls him that," Kate said, giggling.

Their conversation was cut short with the door to the classroom opening and a short, stout woman walking in. She was dressed in a jean jumper with a red shawl draped across her shoulders and her frizzy, red hair tied back in a bun. She looked tired and worn as she set a large stack of books on the desk at the front and grabbed a spiral bound notebook off the desktop. She adjusted her incredibly thick glasses before she spoke.

"Is anyone missing?" she asked softly, peering at the class from behind the notebook that was covering half her face.

"Mrs. Mole, Mrs. Mole!" Kate raised her hand enthusiastically, "we have a new student!"

Bella turned a bright shade of red as she stared at Kate waving her hand in the air. Everyone in the class turned to look at the two of them and Bella sunk down low in her chair and covered her face with one her hands, almost wishing she was back in class with Mr. Trimas.

"Do we now, Kathleen?" Mrs. Mole asked.

"Kate," she corrected, "but yes, everyone, this is Isabella Marie Swann," Kate gestured to Bella who was almost on the floor by now, "and she is a transfer student from Forks. Their school burned down and I feel it is our duty to make sure she is supported during this time of tragedy."

Snickers echoed throughout the class.

"Well, thank you for telling me, Kathleen, um, Isabella, do you want to introduce yourself?" Mrs. Mole asked, peering around the desks in front of Bella's to find her.

Bella leaned up enough to look at Mrs. Mole and shake her head side-to-side. There was no way she was going to say anything after Kate's outburst nor could she with the mix of anger and embarrassment she was feeling.

"That's all right," Mrs. Mole said quietly, "we are actually having a work day today. The class is putting together group presentations based on poetry from different eras. If it's all right I'd like to give you an alternate assignment for the time being since the presentations are due at the end of this week."

Bella nodded, though she saw out of the corner a look of disappointment fall across Kate's face.

"All right, class, put your desks together and start working. Bella, would you please come up to my desk?"

Chatter soon filled the room as the students began going over their presentations. As soon as Bella got up from her desk it was commandeered by a nearby group for one of their members that was forced to walk halfway across the room to meet up with the other four that were already clustered together. Bella carefully stepped over backpacks and squeezed between the narrow openings of the groups of desks that were back-to-back and approached Mrs. Mole's desk.

"Hello dear," Mrs. Mole said as she wiped her glasses with the hem of her shirt, "I'm sorry if Kathleen embarrassed you. She takes after her father in that regard." she said her last sentence quietly enough for no one to overhear.

"She seems rather…energetic."

"To say the least," Mrs. Mole agreed as she put back on her glasses.

Mrs. Mole turned toward Bella as she adjusted her glasses and Bella watched her face fall.

"Is something wrong?" Bella asked.

"No, no, you just look like someone I used to know, that's all." Mrs. Mole picked up a group of papers on her desk and straightened them into a neat pile.

"Who?"

"You probably don't know her. She used to live here a long time ago. Her name was Renee Higginbotham."

"Actually, I think you are talking about my mom. Higginbotham is her maiden name. She goes by Renee Dwyer now, though."

The book Mrs. Mole had just picked up fell from her hands and onto the floor, making a large clatter. Everyone in the class fell silent and stared up at the front of the room. The expression on Mrs. Mole's face was one of sheer panic and anxiousness. She quickly bent down and picked up the book, dusting it off and placing it back on her desk. The class resumed working and Mrs. Mole managed a pleasant smile at Bella.

"How lovely," Mrs. Mole said nervously, "Renee and I were friends during high school. You look just like her. Are you staying with Sarita, then?"

"How did you know?"

"Your mom and Sarita were practically inseparable during high school. I wouldn't imagine a person she'd trust more to watch over her daughter than her best friend."

"Sure, I guess,"

Mrs. Mole nodded and looked away from Bella and down at the stack of papers on her desk. She began to thumb through them and, as she did, Bella's eyes focused on the bracelet Mrs. Mole was wearing on her right wrist. It was made from twine, but it had been configured into an intricate pattern that was strikingly similar to the pattern that was repeated everywhere in Sarita's home. Bella felt a lump form in her throat, but she shoved it back as she tried to keep a neutral expression across her face.

"Here we are," Mrs. Mole said, sliding a thin piece of paper out from the stack, "I hope a four-page paper on a poem of your choice isn't too much for your first day." Mrs. Mole extended the paper to Bella.

"Where'd you get that bracelet?" Bella blurted out unintentionally.

"My bracelet?" Mrs. Mole asked thoughtfully, glancing down at her wrist and examining the intricately arranged twine, "this old thing?"

"Yeah," Bella gulped, "it's pretty and I just, you know, was wondering where you bought it."

"My mother actually made this for me a long time ago. Um, why don't you find a desk and start working on your assignment?"

Bella took the paper from Mrs. Mole and watched her totter away and over to a nearby group. Bella let out a breath of air and walked over to an empty desk that had been shoved to the side near the window. She sat down and stared down at the assignment in front of her. She read through the instructions and opted to shove the paper into her notebook and work on it later. Bella was in no mood to work on anything when there were a million thoughts swirling around in her brain.

_Why does Mrs. Mole have a bracelet with the same pattern featured in Sarita's home? Why have I not cried since I got here? Why didn't Charlie insist on taking me to the doctor after my panic attack yesterday? Why did Mrs. Mole's demeanor change when I told her Renee was my mom? Why did my locker open after Kate came by? Why did I forget to look at those twins' eyes to see if they were vampires? Why is Mr. Trimas such a condescending douchebag?_

These thoughts and many more ran through Bella's mind throughout the rest of the class period. When the bell rang, Bella was so caught up that she did not recognize the grating sound. It wasn't until Kate came by and nudged her on the shoulder that Bella snapped out of it.

"Do you need help finding your next class?" Kate asked hopefully as she watched Bella gather up her things.

"I think you have helped me more than enough," Bella said curtly, not really caring about her tone of voice, "besides, I'm going to lunch now."

"Me too!" Kate said excitedly.

Bella brushed past Kate and walked out of the classroom. As she exited, a group of students standing near the door abruptly ended their conversation and began giggling as Bella walked past. In a huff, Bella quickly walked away from them and down the hallway toward the cafeteria. She had seen the cafeteria when Sarita had taken her to her first class and was almost positive she could remember where it was.

"Bella! Wait up!"

Bella kept walking and ignored Kate's shouting. Bella turned a corner and, as she did, watched a boy with an arm full of books fall forward. The books went flying as the boy hit the floor and a group of boys dressed in letterman jackets laughed at the boy who was reaching around for his glasses that had fallen off his face. When no one stopped to help the boy, Bella walked over and began picking up the many books that were spread out across the hallway.

"Oh, Iggy, did they trip you again?"

Bella looked over and saw Kate attending to the boy who had just found his glasses near the garbage can. Kate started gathering up the books near her as the boy put his thick glasses back on his face. He seemed oddly familiar to Bella. The boy's unkempt red hair and round face bore a strong resemblance to Mrs. Mole, but Bella couldn't be sure they were related unless she asked the boy directly. After grabbing all the books that were near here, Bella walked over to Kate and the boy and handed them off.

"Thanks," the boy said quietly, looking at the floor.

"Iggy," Kate said seriously, "did those jocks trip you?"

"N-no, I just tripped."

"Over what?"

"My shoelaces?"

"You're wearing crocs," Kate said, looking down at his feet.

"It's not a big deal, Kate. I need to get to class…" Iggy trailed off.

Iggy moved past the two girls and limped down the hall and out of sight. Kate sighed and pulled out her phone from her pocket. She typed out a quick message and then put her phone away.

"Who was that?" Bella asked.

"Ignatius Mole. He goes by Iggy, though. He's Mrs. Mole's son."

"Does he trip over his 'shoelaces' often?"

"Yeah, unfortunately," Kate replied sadly, "he's the smartest kid in school, but he's not the most popular. I've been trying to help him out, but he's incredibly shy and, well, it's not like I'm Miss Popularity."

"That's nice of you to look out for him," Bella replied.

"Bella," Kate suddenly said, taking a deep breath, "I'm sorry if I embarrassed you in class. Sometimes my mouth works faster than my brain and I think that I'm helping out in a situation when in reality I'm making it worse and-"

"I get it," Bella said kindly, putting up a hand to stall Kate's babbling, "and don't worry about it. Just don't do it again, okay?"

"On my honor, I won't!" Kate crossed her heart and beamed at Bella, "does this mean I can sit with you at lunch?" she asked desperately.

"If you really want to…"

"Great!"

Bella and Kate turned and walked down the hallway together toward the cafeteria. Kate chatted animatedly the entire way while Bella politely listened. Bella was relieved when they finally reached the large seating area and the dull roar of the rest of the students dampened some of Kate's chattering. They both opted for the salad bar, as it had the shortest line, and then proceeded to look for a table to sit.

"Where do you usually sit?" Bella asked Kate, looking around the room.

"Oh, anywhere that's free," Kate said cheerfully, "it's not like the tables are assigned or anything."

"Well, then how about that one?" Bella pointed to an empty table across the room next to a floor-to-ceiling window.

"Um, remember when I said the tables aren't assigned? That one kinda is."

"How so?" Bella asked, walking toward the empty table.

"Bella, that's the cheer team's table" Kate said nervously, walking alongside her, "we _can't_ sit there; you have to trust me on this. We just can't. Why don't we sit over there with the chess team?" Kate pointed to a table behind them.

"I guess they are going to have to find a different table," Bella shrugged, arriving at the table and sitting down.

"Bella, please," Kate said anxiously, looking around nervously, "nothing good will come from this."

Bella rolled her eyes and began to pick at her garden salad. Eventually, Kate took a seat next to her, though she was breathing heavily and glancing around every few seconds. Bella ignored her behavior and chose to count the veins in her lettuce leaves instead.

"Bella," Kate whispered through gritted teeth, practically on the verge of a stroke, "they're coming!"

Bella looked up and immediately spotted a group of similarly dressed individuals walking toward them. Their short, pleated skirts and matching tops in the school colors gave them away as cheerleaders. At the front of the group were the two blondes Bella had seen earlier. She set down her fork as she waited for them to get close enough so she could examine their eyes.

Before they got close enough for Bella to make out their eye color, the group stopped and a look of disgust cascaded over the entire group at once when they realized their table was taken. The most prominent facial expressions belonged to the two blondes, obviously the leaders of the group. They both turned around in unison and pulled in the members of their group for a moment before turning back around again and separating from the group.

"Bella," Kate whispered, tapping her fork on her plate like a machine gun, "we have to go."

"I'm not leaving," Bella said, turning to look at Kate, "it's just a _table_ for crying out loud."

Bella looked back down at her salad and stabbed a piece of lettuce on her plate and ate it. Kate whimpered next to her as Bella continued to peruse the vegetables that were dispersed amongst the leafy greens. Soon, Bella heard the footsteps of the approaching girls and her heart began to race. She was both apprehensive and excited to get a good luck at the blondes and to determine their vampire status.

"Well, isn't this cute?" a delicate, yet cold, soprano voice said.

Bella's heart thudded uncontrollably in her chest. The empty chair next to her was suddenly pulled out and one of the girls sat down, placing her tray gently on the table top. Kate, who was sitting in the other chair, suddenly found herself upended when the other twin shoved her out and onto the floor.

"Move it, Flowers," a slightly lower, but still delicate, voice echoed.

In any other situation, Bella would have gone to Kate's aid, but with the potential vampires now next to her, Bella was not going to lose her chance to get an up-close view of them.

"And who is this?" the girl on Bella's right asked the girl to the Bella's left.

"Someone new, obvi, Lia,"

"You're right, Lana, she _must_ be new. No one else would be stupid enough to sit at the cheer table otherwise. What's your name, new girl?" the girl Bella assumed to be Lia, asked.

Bella took a deep breath and lifted up her head and turned it to her right to look at the blonde. Bella gasped when she was mere inches from the girl and saw that her eyes were the most gorgeous, stunning, otherworldly shade of…blue.

"If you're done gawking," Lia said, a nasty look coming across her face, "would you mind telling me your name?"

"Oh, sis," Lana laughed from the left of Bella, "this is probably Isabella Swann, the girl that that obnoxious Jessica girl was prattling on about during math this morning."

"You know, Lana, I think you're right. I'm not surprised she can't speak properly, Jessica did say that she was kinda dull."

The two girls laughed in unison as Bella sat, frozen in her seat, trying to digest everything going on around her. Suddenly, Lia reached one of her hands out and tucked a loose strand of Bella's hair behind her ear. Lia's touch was warm and not at all icy like her demeanor, which further proved to Bella that these girls, Lia at the very least, could not be vampires.

"You know what else that Jessica girl told me?" Lia said, leaning forward and whispering in Bella's ear, "she told me all about your _hot_ and _heavy_ romance with…Edward."

Bella felt her heart race speed up again, this time out of anger instead of anxiousness.

"Yeah, she told us all about it," Lana whispered into Bella's other ear, "about how you just showed up one day and, despite Edward not showing any attraction to any other girls, started dating you."

"It must make you feel special," Lia said, a slight laugh in her voice, "having the hottest guy in your little Podunk town wanting you."

"But, he left, didn't he?" Lana asked, "Jessica said you were and still are, a total wreck over it. The sex must have been great if you were on the verge of suicide, as she said."

"Or maybe he left because you didn't put out," Lia giggled.

"Or, sis, maybe she _did_ put out and he wasn't impressed."

This last statement caused something inside of Bella to snap. Without warning, Bella grabbed the plastic plate holding her salad with both hands and hit Lana upside the head. Lana fell from her chair, grabbing her lunch tray and sending the contents flying behind her. Lia grabbed Bella's hair from behind and wrenched her out of her seat, slapping her across the face as soon as she was standing.

"No one touches my sister!" she shouted, her chest heaving up and down and her eyes darting back and forth between Bella and her sister who was on the ground clutching her jaw. In her haste, Lia had grabbed the metal butter knife from her tray that was now flipped over onto the floor like her sister's.

It was the hand that held the butter knife that Bella found herself fixated on. She wasn't worried about Lia harming her with the knife, because the knife Lia was clutching so tightly in her fist was beginning to bend like a slice of cheese. Then, Bella felt her heart literally stop when the top of the knife peeking out of Lia's fist began to melt and the now liquid metal began running down Lia's wrist.

/\\\

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	6. Chapter 6

Bella blinked and almost passed out when the knife that she had just seen dripping down Lia's hand was back in its intact state. Lia threw the knife down on the ground and it made a large clang as the metal hit the concrete floor. A wince came across Lia's face as her hand, now free from the knife, was now clutching her face as though she had been the one hit. She glared at Bella murderously before walking forward, shoving her out of the way and assisting Lana, who was kneeled next to the table holding her face in her hands.

"Bella, are you all right?" Kate asked, appearing by her side.

"What? Oh, I'm fine. Are you?" Bella asked, suddenly remembering Kate's tumble to the floor, courtesy of Lana.

"Yeah, but we need to get out here," Kate whispered, her eyes flitting over to the crowd of angry cheerleaders who had witnessed the entire scuffle.

Bella nodded quickly and followed Kate as she led Bella toward the door they had come in, but they were barred from leaving by a curly-haired behemoth that towered over both of them. Bella's breath caught in her throat and Kate let out a small whimper as they stared up at Mr. Trimas' intimidating, stony expression.

"Well, I should have figured from your insubordinate behavior this morning that you would be a trouble maker, Swann," Mr. Trimas sneered, "as for your accomplice, well, I'm amazed she managed to get her head out of the clouds long enough to do _anything_."

"Mr. Trimas," Bella said nervously, mustering up the minute amount of courage within her, "Kate had nothing-".

"Swann, I don't want to hear any excuses," Mr. Trimas scoffed, "now both of you haul your posteriors down to the office while I go and collect the Ferros."

Mr. Trimas shoved them both to the side and walked between them and over to Lana and Lia, who were standing with their gaggle of friends and milking sympathy. Mr. Trimas put a comforting hand on Lana's shoulder as she cried dramatically.

"Oh please," Kate huffed, turning away and heading out of the cafeteria door.

Bella followed and walked with Kate in silence to the main office that Sarita had brought her to when she first arrived at the school. Olivia, who had been there when Bella first arrived, had been replaced by an older black woman. She promptly greeted Kate and Bella as they approached.

"Welcome, girls, how can I help you?"

"We have to see the principal," Kate lamented.

"Is it for a disciplinary issue?"

"Yep,"

"Hmm," the woman murmured disapprovingly, "Well, lucky for you the principal is actually out for the day. He had an emergency meeting at the school corporation building. Ms. Kayes is handling all disciplinary problems today. Take a seat on the benches and I'll let her know you're here."

Bella and Kate sauntered over to one of the empty benches and sat down beside one another with their arms folded. Several minutes of silence passed between the girls as they watched the office workers bustle in and out of the back offices carrying files or calling in students for scheduling.

"Girls," the black woman called from her position at the desk, "Ms. Kayes will see you now."

Bella and Kate both stood up and walked behind the welcome desk and through an open door that led to the administrative offices of the principal and vice-principal. Bella followed Kate down a hall lined with portraits of what Bella assumed to be past principals of the school and to a closed, solid oak wood door with a shiny placard engraved with Sarita's name.

"Kate, I'm sorry," Bella said quickly, "I should have listened to you-"

"Don't worry about it," Kate put up a hand, "let's just get through this," she stated solemnly.

Kate knocked gingerly on the door and a voice responded telling them to come in. Kate opened the door and walked in with Bella close behind.

Sarita's office, much like her home, was perfectly organized and arranged. Her desk and bookcases matched the oak door that led into her room and the creamy color of her walls blended in seamlessly with the red area rug that covered the standard issue blue carpeting that ran through the hallways of the back offices and majority of the classrooms.

"Hi girls," Sarita sighed, shutting the door behind them, "please take a seat," Sarita gestured to the plush, comfortable-looking, high-backed chairs in front of her desk, "so I hear you guys are here for a disciplinary issue. Do you want to tell me what happened?"

"Bella and I were eating lunch when Lana and Lia Ferro came over and started making trouble," Kate said very quickly, "they started making explicit comments to Bella which made her retaliate physically. I didn't see any of this though because Lana shoved me to the ground quite forcefully-"

"I think I got it, Kate, thanks," Sarita said, cutting off her babble, "Bella, how exactly did you 'physically retaliate' against the girls?"

"Only Lana was involved in the act of aggression," Kate pointed out.

"It was an 'aggressive act'?" Sarita asked quizzically.

"Not exactly," Kate tried to correct herself, "I mean, it really is a subjective thing and words can have a lot of meaning besides what you think they mean-"

"I hit Lana Ferro with a lunch tray," Bella stated simply.

"Yeah, that," Kate conceded, looking down at the ground.

"I see," Sarita sighed again, "Kate, did you harm either Lana or Lia?"

"No," Bella answered for her, "it was me. Just me."

"Okay," Sarita said, folding her hands in front of her and looking over at Kate, "well, then I guess you are free to go, Kate."

"Um, okay," Kate said, standing up from her chair and smoothing down her dress, "yes, free to go, right," she mumbled.

Kate exited the room and shut the door noiselessly behind her. As soon as the door shut with a 'click', silence permeated throughout the room as Bella and Sarita stared at one another, both unsure what to say or how to proceed. Sarita deflected and took a sip of coffee from the mug beside her desk lamp.

"So," Sarita began, setting the mug back where it had been previously, "I see you've already made some new friends, that's good. Um, do you want to tell me what possessed you to hit Lana Ferro with a lunch tray?"

"Not really," Bella admitted, folding her arms and slumping down in her seat.

"I see," Sarita took another sip of coffee, "well, obviously, I can't let you slide for this, you understand?"

Bella nodded.

"I haven't talked to Lana or Lia as of yet so I can't tell you what you are in for, but school protocol usually dictates a two-day suspension for fighting."

"I understand," Bella replied solemnly, though her heart had lifted at a two-day reprieve from school.

"Well, now that that's out of the way," Sarita said, taking a deep breath and blowing it out slowly, "do you want to tell me, cousin-to-cousin with complete impartiality and confidentiality what really happened?"

"Lana and Lia just were saying some stuff and I…got mad."

"Well, speaking as a conscientious observer and _not_ as a faculty member, I can agree with you that Lana and Lia aren't always the easiest to get along with."

"I found that out the hard way," Bella admitted.

"Many folks do, but, just remember, Bella, not everything is as clear as it looks on the surface. Sometimes people's motivations are influenced very deeply by things we can't always see."

"I know," Bella agreed, wishing for this awkward conversation to be over.

"And even if we are sure that a person's motivations are incredibly evident, we still can't hit them across the face with lunch trays even though we think they deserve it." Sarita flashed a quick, sly smile at Bella.

Without warning, Sarita's door opened and Bella frowned when she saw Mr. Trimas stroll in as if he owned the place. Lana and Lia flanked him on either side, both with nasty looks on their faces and their arms crossed. Bella glanced at the twin she believed to be Lana and was surprised to see that there was no evidence that anything had hit her. Her face was certainly rosier, but that could have easily been the result of her dramatic crying that had occurred earlier in the lunch room.

"Sarita, I need to speak with you urgently. My nieces were unjustly targeted and attacked by this ingrate," Mr. Trimas glared at Bella, "and I demand that she be punished severely."

_Nieces?_ Bella thought. _Lana and Lia are related to Mr. Trimas?_

"First of all, Lucas," Sarita said darkly, looking over at him with an incredibly irritated expression, "why don't you learn some manners and learn to knock before you come barging in making demands? I'm currently with a student and would greatly appreciate it if you would turn right around, leave, and allow me to finish up with her."

"Oh right," Mr. Trimas scoffed, "as if you are really going to hand down an appropriate punishment when the offender is related to you. It's just like you to try and veil your bias under the guise of professionalism."

"Lucas," Sarita said forcefully, getting up from her desk, walking over to him and coming to a stop in front of him, "You are the last person to accuse anyone of being unprofessional. Rest assured, _I_ know how to separate my professional life from my personal life. " Sarita glanced at Lana and Lia, "now get out of my office and I will hear Lana and Lia's side of things as soon as I'm done speaking to Bella."

Lucas pursed his lips and gave Sarita a curt nod as he took one more moment to glare at Bella before walking out of the room, Lana and Lia right behind him. Sarita shut the door loudly behind him and walked back to her desk and sat down, her exasperation obvious.

"Sorry about that," Sarita said, running a hand through her hair, "Mr. Trimas is just as 'difficult' with faculty as he is with students."

"I can see that," Bella said sympathetically.

"Anyway, I do need to talk with Lana and Lia and get their perspective on things. I'll let you know what your punishment is at the end of the day. Sound good? Well, not good, but you know what I mean."

"Yeah, sure," Bella replied, nodding as she rose from her chair and walked to the door.

"Thanks for understanding, kid," Sarita said softly, "I'm sorry your first day hasn't been the greatest."

"Not your fault," Bella mumbled as she grabbed the round door knob.

"Hope your day improves!" Sarita called as Bella opened the door and walked out.

Bella sauntered down the hallway and back out into the main lobby where she spotted Lana and Lia sitting on a bench in deep conversation. As if from thin air, Kate materialized in front of Bella with worry etched across her plump face.

"Did it go all right? Did Sarita go easy on you? Are you suspended, expelled, going on trial? What?" Kate asked quickly and in one breath.

"Let's walk," Bella said quietly, her eyes panning over to Lia and Lana.

"Right!" Kate whispered, "Sure, Bella, I'll take you to your next class!" Kate announced loud enough for Lana and Lia to hear. Bella turned red from the second-hand embarrassment she was feeling due to Kate's obvious acting.

The two of them left the office lobby and walked down the hallways toward Bella's next class that Kate was not part of. As soon as they were far enough away, Kate resumed her questioning.

"So, what happened? Is everything all right?"

"Sarita just said I'd probably get a two-day suspension, but she can't say for sure until she talks to Lana and Lia."

"Two days? That's not so bad. I was scared you were going to get expelled."

"Why were you scared?"

"Well, because, I was kinda hoping, um, that we could, you know, um, sorta be friends?"

Bella looked at Kate sympathetically and sighed. Kate was obviously desperate for a friend if she was willing to go out of her way, whether she realized she was being embarrassing or not, to befriend a new student who already had a reputation that was now was spreading because of the recent altercation she had had with the Ferro sisters.

"Of course we can be friends," Bella replied kindly, hoping she wouldn't regret her decision.

"Great!" Kate replied giddily, "this is going to be so great! You'll see!"

Bella nodded politely and sighed again. On her first day at Port Angeles High School she had made one friend, three enemies, and received an almost assured suspension for fighting. This may have seemed like a lot to handle for most people, but Bella had more on her mind than most people to occupy her. As she walked into her next class, she had already forgotten about the fight and her punishment as her thoughts wandered back to Edward.

/\\\

As Sarita had predicted, Bella was given a two-day out-of-school suspension for fighting as well as a week's worth of detention to be served at a later time. Sarita promised Bella that she wouldn't tell Charlie about the incident if she agreed not to hit anyone else with a lunch tray. Kate, on the back of her and Bella's new friendship, had done her best to keep Bella up to speed with everything going on at school, including the gossip.

"You are totally a legend!" Kate squealed in Bella's bedroom on the afternoon of Bella's second day of suspension, "everyone is totally impressed that you laid the smack down on those two pop tarts!"

"Kate, it's nothing to be proud of…" Bella mumbled as she tried to focus on the math homework in front of her.

"Of course it is! Lake Waters actually spoke to me today and asked if I was the friend of the misery chick who bashed Lana's head into the wall." Kate said dreamily, falling back on Bella's pillow.

"Now I'm a misery chick?" Bella asked quizzically, looking up from her equation, "and since when did I bash Lana's head into the wall? And who is Lake Waters?"

"Lake Waters is only the most gorgeous man I've ever laid eyes on," Kate said, still in her dream-like state, "and he spoke to me. My life is perfect."

"Whatever you say," Bella replied, rolling her eyes, "is there any other homework that was assigned?"

"Mrs. Mole said you just need to finish your report and turn it in. I was too scared to go ask Mr. Trimas for your homework and I already gave you your history and computer class homework. Oh, and give the plant on your desk some water. I'm tired of hearing it complain." Kate rattled off casually, still in her Lake Waters stupor.

"Excuse me?" Bella asked.

"What?" Kate replied, sitting up and looking at Bella.

"You just said to water my plant because you were tired of hearing it complain," Bella glanced behind her at the innocent daisies sitting on her desk, "what did you mean by that?"

"Nothing," Kate said quickly, "it's just an expression. Your plants look like they could use some water."

"But you've been sitting on my bed," Bella pointed out, "and you said they've been _complaining_. Plants don't talk as far as I know."

"Of course not! I was just talking, Bella, goodness," Kate said, though she seemed defensive, "my mouth works a lot faster than my brain. Sometimes even I don't know what will come out."

"What's that?" Bella asked, suddenly forgetting about the plant as she focused in on something more pressing.

"What?"

"Your necklace, the red one,"

"This one?" Kate asked, pulling the red necklace made of dyed twine out and running her hand down the design that had now become incredibly familiar to Bella.

"Yes, where did you get it?"

"It's just something I made one day when I was bored at home. It's the result of a rainy day," Kate replied cheerfully.

"Then why does Mrs. Mole have a bracelet that looks like that?"

Kate froze and didn't say a word. She glanced down at the necklace again and let out a big breath of air.

"I…have no idea. Are you sure it's the same pattern?"

"Yes," Bella said, her mind racing, "and it's the same pattern on the dresser," Bella got up from the bed and began looking around the room, "and on the nightstand, and on the bed frame, and on the wooden frames and in the hallways-"

"Bella, are you feeling all right?" Kate asked worriedly.

"You see the patterns on everything, right?"

"Yeah," Kate said, looking around at all of the furniture and noting the pattern, "it's on everything, practically."

"Then tell me why you have the pattern on everything in this room matches the pattern on your necklace and Mrs. Mole's bracelet."

"I don't know," Kate conceded, "and I think I should go," Kate said quietly, gathering up her books and slipping them into her backpack.

"No, not until you tell me what that pattern is or what it means."

"I don't know what it means," Kate said seriously, getting up from Bella's bed and slinging her backpack over her shoulder, "it's just a design. It doesn't have to mean anything. It's not like it's that intricate. Anyone could reproduce it."

"Then _why_ is it everywhere?"

"_I_ don't know. You are reading into this way too much." Kate walked past Bella and toward the bedroom door. Bella followed her.

"What do you think it means? What does it mean to you?"

"Couldn't tell you," Kate said, opening the door and walking out into the hallway, "it's just a random pattern. It doesn't mean a thing." Bella could tell Kate was becoming more irritated with the pseudo-interrogation.

"It's everywhere, Kate. All around me. Wouldn't you be the least bit curious about it if you were in my shoes?"

"Why do you care?" Kate asked, stopping in the middle of the hallway and turning around to look at Bella, "it's a freaking pattern for goodness sake!" Kate let out an irritated sigh and turned away from Bella mumbling and continuing her trek down the hall to the staircase, unaware that Bella had begun to follow her.

"…more worried about a freaking necklace than the fact that Lia melted a freaking knife in front-" Kate stopped mumbling when she had reached the staircase. She had been forced to turn to her right to begin walking down the stairs and had just seen Bella out of the corner of her vision. Fear crept across Kate's face as she realized that Bella had heard everything. Without a moment's hesitation, Kate ran down the stairs and out of the house, leaving a stunned Bella in the upstairs hallway.

/\\\

I apologize for not getting this out sooner. Classes have started up and they've been consuming all of my time. Thanks for your patience and understanding.

-D.C.

P.S. R&R


	7. Chapter 7

Bella slumped against the wall when, as she pursued Kate, she saw Edward, semi-transparent and ghost-like, standing right beside the trio of paintings at the top of the stairs. Bella had not heard anything that Kate had mumbled and, instead, could only stare in astonishment at her former lover. As soon as Kate fled down the stairs, Bella took a tentative step towards him.

"Stop," he whispered, putting up a hand.

Bella halted in place. She could feel her heart pounding furiously, trying to break free from its prison behind her ribcage to rid itself of the pressure and anxiety that was building up inside of it. Bella's eyes welled with tears as she stared at him. She crossed her arms across her body and held herself tightly and choked back a sob as she smiled at him tearfully.

"I knew you would come back," she managed to say, "I just knew it."

"Don't trust them," Edward said in response.

"Who?" Bella asked, perplexed.

"They are all lying to you," he responded.

"Who?" Bella asked again, staring at him quizzically.

"Don't trust them." Edward repeated again.

"I can't do that unless I know who they are," Bella remarked, sniffing and taking a step toward him.

"Stop," he said forcefully.

"Who can't I trust?" Bella asked anxiously, walking toward him slowly.

"Stop," he said again, more forcefully this time.

"Tell me," Bella whispered, getting closer.

"Stop!" he shouted.

With that exclamation, the figure of Edward disintegrated before Bella's eyes and faded away into nothingness. Bella ran to where he had stood, tears streaming down her face as she implored him over and over to come back. She fell to her knees and screamed into the floor like a banshee. She pounded her fists over and over onto the ground as her entire body shook as a result of the anxiety intensifying within her.

From the floor below, Bella heard a door open. She immediately straightened up and tried to still her gasping breaths to no avail. She stood up quickly and used the back of one of her hands to wipe her wet face, but her bloodshot eyes were a dead giveaway that she had been crying.

"Bella? Are you here?"

It was Sarita. A second set of footsteps entered the house and closed the door.

"I think she's upstairs. I just hope it's not as bad as I think."

It was Kate. She had come back and was not walking quickly up the stairs with Sarita close behind. Bella, unable to think clearly because of the apparition she had just witnessed, stood in front of the trio of paintings with her arms folded and her feet planted firmly shoulder width apart.

"Oh, Bella!" Kate exclaimed as she reached the top of the stairs and the pair made eye contact, "I'm so sorry I ran out on you like that. You didn't look well and I figured Sarita needed to come and make sure it wasn't something more serious because heaven knows I'm in no way qualified to-"

"Thanks, Kate," Sarita said, putting a hand on Kate's shoulder as she walked onto the landing, "Bella, is everything all right?"

"Everything is fine," Bella said, nodding her head and plastering on a fake smile, "I'm perfectly, perfectly fine."

"Kate, it's getting close to dinner," Sarita said quietly, removing her hand from Kate's shoulder "Your parents will probably want you home soon."

"Yeah, you're probably right," Kate conceded, biting her bottom lip, "I'll just see myself out."

Kate gave an awkward curtsy before turning away from Bella and Sarita and walking down the staircase toward the front door. As soon as the door was opened and closed, Sarita, whose eyes had never left Bella, finally spoke.

"Do you want to tell me what's going on?" Sarita asked, mimicking Bella and folding her arms.

"Nothing is going on," Bella said resolutely, "Kate's the one who freaked out and left all of a sudden."

"She said when she was leaving you kept pestering her about something she had said about the plants I put in your room?"

"It was nothing, really," Bella said nonchalantly, "it was a misunderstanding."

"She was worried about you," Sarita said quietly, "she said you looked at her as if you had seen a ghost when she was about to walk down the stairs."

"A misunderstanding," Bella repeated, "can I go, now?" Bella asked, shifting her weight from one foot to the other as she stared at anything other than Sarita's face.

"Actually, Bella," Sarita cleared her throat, "there's something else I've been meaning to talk to you about. It's very important."

"Can't it wait? I'm really tired," Bella lied, feeling more and more uncomfortable as she stood there mere feet from Sarita.

"It really can't. I should have told you from the start, but I wasn't sure if I could or if it was my place, but with everything that has gone on these past few days I feel like I owe it to you to let you know what's been going on."

Bella muttered an affirmative response to Sarita's statement, but found herself detached from the conversation when she saw Edward materialize behind Sarita.

"Don't trust her," he said firmly.

"Bella, what's wrong?" Sarita asked, cocking her head to one side, "you look sick." Sarita unfolded her arms and began walking toward Bella.

"Don't let her touch you," Edward warned.

Bella took a huge step backwards from Sarita as she approached. Sarita stopped where she was and looked at Bella quizzically.

"What's going on with you?"

"Nothing," Bella said breathlessly, looking beyond Sarita's figure at Edward who was still standing feet from them both.

"What are you staring at?" Sarita asked, her face hardening into an intense look of concentration.

"Nothing," Bella said with a clear note of irritation in her voice, "can you just tell me what you need to tell me?"

"Maybe you should lay down," Sarita said softly, "we can talk later."

"No, just tell me now so I don't have to listen to it later."

"But, you just said you were tired," Sarita responded, taking a small step toward Bella.

"Don't let her touch you," Edward repeated.

Bella took another step back and away from Sarita. Sarita stopped mid-stride and glanced over her shoulder. Bella held her breath, unsure if Sarita could see Edward's apparition. When Sarita turned her head back towards Bella, the expression on her face was neutral.

"It's worse than I thought," Sarita said to herself sighing, "Bella, I really am sorry I have to do this. Truly, I am." Sarita ran a hand through her hair, closed her eyes, and let out another sigh.

"What are you talking-?"

Before Bella could finish her sentence, Sarita had lunged at Bella, grabbed her around her midsection and pulled her into a tight, backwards embrace. Bella screamed and both tumbled to the floor as Bella tried to escape and Sarita attempted to keep her pinned. As Bella fought, she felt her body become heavy and her thoughts clouded the longer Sarita held her. Soon, an overwhelming feeling of sleepiness began to overcome her and she found it hard to struggle against Sarita's iron grip. The last thing she saw as her eyes fluttered shut was the image of Edward, once again, disappearing into thin air.

/\\\

When Bella came to she was immediately aware that she was no longer in the hallway, on the floor, but back in her bed in Sarita's home, warm and comfortable. The second thing she was aware of was a set of familiar voice speaking only a few feet from her bedside.

"Sarita, are you sure she's going to be okay? Tricky's can be very, well, tricky!" Kate exclaimed in a whisper.

"She'll be fine, Kate. This isn't the first tricky I've had to deal with." Sarita replied softly, "it wasn't very far along so that helped."

"Good. I'm just sorry I didn't catch it before it got to this point."

"You're young. Learning to identify and take down tricky's comes with time and maturity. You'll get there, don't worry. Now, I think Bella is awake, do you want to check on her?"

"Bella?" Kate asked, turning from Sarita and walking over to Bella's bedside, "are you awake?" she asked, crouching down and leaning in uncomfortably close to Bella's face.

"Yeah," Bella responded, pulling her head away from Kate, "but what happened? And why did _you_ tackle me in the hallway?" Bella asked Sarita, looking directly at her standing at the foot of the bed.

"You were exhibiting symptoms of a tricky infection so I had to take measures to cure it," Sarita replied simply, folding her arms and smiling sweetly at Bella.

"What the hell is a tricky?" Bella asked, annoyed at Sarita's blissful attitude over assaulting her in the hallway.

"Surely you know what a tricky is," Kate said incredulously, "I mean, come on, I've never had a tricky but my mom and dad taught me about them."

"Kate, I'm not sure that Bella's parents did. Rather, I'm not sure a particular parent taught her about all of this."

"Really?" Kate asked, her plump cheeks turning a light shade of red, "gee, sorry then, Bella, I didn't mean to imply you were stupid or your parents ill-informed or ignorant of your own safety-"

"I think she gets it, Kate," Sarita said, politely interjecting, "but, could you give Bella and I a few minutes alone? I need to talk to her about trickys and things of the like."

"Sure," Kate said, nodding her head and standing up quickly, "I'll go make some soup…or one of the other three recipes I know how to make."

"Sounds great," Sarita said sweetly.

Kate excused herself from the room and closed the door behind as she left. Once they were alone, Sarita walked over to Bella's bedside and sat down on the comforter as Bella pulled herself up into a sitting position.

"How are you feeling?" Sarita asked.

"My head hurts," Bella said quietly, "but I know why," she said bitterly, glaring at Sarita.

"That's not just from me. Side effects of tricky extraction are usually a killer headache, internal bleeding, hallucinations, and projectile vomiting a la the Exorcist. Be thankful you _only_ have to suffer through a headache."

"What is this tricky think you keep mentioning? Is it some sort of disease?"

"You could say that," Sarita said slyly, "though it does only afflict a certain type of person."

"What kind of person?"

"A very _enchanting_ person,"

"Enchanting? That makes no sense. How can a disease single out a personality trait?"

"Who says it's a personality trait?" Sarita asked, tilting her head to one side and giving Bella a knowing look.

"What do you mean?" Bella asked.

"Take my hand," Sarita said, extending one of her hands toward Bella.

"Why?"

"Don't argue," Sarita said exasperatedly.

Bella hesitated for a moment, remembering Edward's words to not allow her to touch her, but eventually laid her hand in Sarita's palm. Immediately, she felt a wave of calmness rush over her entire body .

"How do you feel?" Sarita asked.

"Calm," Bella replied, "Extremely so."

"How about now?"

"Nervous," Bella said, suddenly feeling very overwhelmed and anxious, "my heart is racing."

"What about now?"

"Happy!" Bella giggled

Bella withdrew her hand from Sarita's after this outburst and clutched it to her chest as she stared at Sarita suspiciously.

"What was that?" Bella asked, beginning to scoot away from Sarita, "what did you do to me? How did you do that? What are you?"

"I'm the same thing as you, Bella. I'm an enchanter."

/\\\

I apologize for this taking so much time to get this out. Life has been crazy (lame excuse, but it's true). I will do better in the future. Thank you for your patience.

Best,

-D.C.


	8. Chapter 8

"What did you say?" Bella asked, staring at Sarita with a mixed expression of horror and disbelief.

"You know what I said and you know what I just did," Sarita replied quietly, her hazel eyes boring into Bella's brown ones, "do you want another demonstration?"

"No," Bella said, lifting her body and scooting away from Sarita, "no, no, this is some sort of sick joke. What did you do to me? Why did you tackle me in the hallway? What is going on?!"

"Bella, calm down," Sarita said, extending her hand toward Bella.

"Don't touch me!" Bella shouted, scooting away from Sarita to the point that she fell off the bed into a tangle of sheets.

"Bella, are you okay?" Sarita asked, getting up from the bed and quickly walking around the bed frame and over to Bella's squirming form on the floor.

"Stay away from me!" Bella shouted, kicking the sheets off of her legs and using the edge of the nightstand beside her to stand up.

"You need to rest, Bella," Sarita said, leaning down and picking up the bed sheet, "tricky extractions take a serious toll on the body." Sarita threw the sheet onto the bed.

"I'm not doing anything until you tell me what a tricky is and what _you_ are," Bella said, her back against the wall.

"My goodness," sighed Sarita, "I'll tell you everything but can we at least talk like civilized people? No hoodoo voodoo stuff, promise. Just talking."

Bella took a deep breath and gazed at Sarita for a trace of insincerity or deceitfulness, but Sarita's serious demeanor made it appear as though she were being truthful. Satisfied, Bella tentatively pushed off from the wall and walked the short distance back to the bed and sat down on the edge, grabbing a nearby pillow and holding it against her. Sarita followed suit and sat down beside her, crossing her legs and letting out another heavy sigh.

"Tell me what a tricky is," Bella quickly demanded, looking at Sarita for a second before looking down at the floor.

"Well, to explain what a tricky is I have to explain to you what we are. Like I said before, we are enchanters."

"What? Like witches?"

"You could call us that," Sarita agreed, "though the term 'witch' is just so contrived these days that we prefer to be called enchanters. It's less polarizing and more neutral. And, if you've ever read about the history of witches you'd understand why we'd want neutrality above all."

"I've read about the Salem Witch Trials and Harry Potter, but what's the truth?"

"The truth is," Sarita furrowed her brow as she assimilated an answer in her mind, "the truth is that anything you've ever read about witches in a historical or fantastical sense is, for the most part, false."

"What's the truth then?"

"The truth is that enchanters have been around for a very, very long time. There are many different kinds of enchanters that exist and they live everywhere and come from many backgrounds and cultures. They coexist amongst humans and live their lives just like everyone else."

"Then what's the point of our supposed existence if we just live our lives?"

"I can't really get into that very much because I don't fully understand it myself. All my parents ever taught me was that over a thousand years ago one of our own made a very grievous mistake and we have had to pay for it ever since."

"How have we 'paid' for it?"

"Well, your tricky is one way _you've_ been paying for it."

"Are you finally going to explain this tricky thing?"

"Perfect segue, huh?" Sarita gave a small smile, "Well, trickys are little demons who take advantage of enchanters who are experiencing heightened emotions. As enchanters, it's vital that we keep ourselves balanced physically, mentally, and emotionally. If we don't then our magic and abilities become disjointed and go out of whack. Trickys exploit these emotional states whether they are extreme rage, intense sorrow, or seething envy and start siphoning off magic from their victim. When they have taken enough energy they start to take on the appearance of the cause of the enchanter's emotional state. At first, they are transparent and ghost-like. As time goes on and they continue to leach more and more magic from the enchanter they take on a physical form. Things take a nasty turn when that happens."

"What happens?" Bella asked softly, tightly clutching the pillow.

"Once a tricky takes on a physical form they make a deal with the enchanter to kill the person responsible for their anguish in exchange for the enchanter's body."

"Why would anyone agree to that?" Bella asked, horrified.

"Most people don't make the best decisions when under duress. I imagine, judging by your tricky, that you've been dealing with some pretty heavy emotions. Imagine dealing with those emotions for years on end with no relief. Feeling like you're drowning but getting just enough air to stay alive. Wanting it all to end but it won't. In the midst of your misery comes a savior with a deal to make it all go away. Could you blame anyone for taking it?"

"I guess not," Bella admitted, picking at the edges of the pillowcase and looking anywhere but directly at Sarita, "it's still horrible to think about, though."

"It is, but _you_ are going to be fine. There's no need to dwell on it."

"Where is my tricky?" Bella asked, looking up at Sarita and placing the pillow on the bed.

Sarita reached into her pocket and pulled out a small, brown, glass bottle with a cork top, "Right here," she said, shaking the vial.

"That's it?" Bella asked incredulously looking at the minute container, "something as horrible as you described I imagined to be a bit more menacing."

"There's an old saying that it's not the size of the dog in the fight but the size of the fight in the dog. I think that aptly describes a tricky."

"What are you going to do with it?"

"Give it to another enchanter to dispose of."

"You can't do it on your own?"

"Nope, gotta outsource this one," Sarita gave a small laugh.

"So does that mean there are other enchanters in town?" Bella asked, leaning back against the headboard of the bed.

"Absolutely, there are three including you and I in the house at this very moment."

"Wait, _Kate_ is an enchanter?!" Bella asked in amazement.

"Yes, though I think she wants to fill you in personally," Sarita said, turning her head toward the door, "you can come in, Kate, we're done talking."

The bedroom quietly opened and Kate stepped in, blushing slightly, "I didn't mean to eavesdrop, but I wanted to make sure you finished your conversation before I barged in."

"You're perfectly fine, Kate," Sarita said warmly, "did you make that soup?"

"Uh, no," Kate admitted, "I was going to make a vegetable soup but it's hard to do that when the plants in your kitchen are calling me a murderer."

Sarita's face broke out into a huge grin and she started laughing uncontrollably. Kate joined in when she realized the ridiculousness of her statement. Only Bella was silent, unsure as to why they were laughing.

"Oh, s-sorry Bella," Sarita said, catching her breath and stifling her laughter, "Kate is an enchanter that specializes in plant magic. Part of that involves being able to know the thoughts and feelings of anything in the plant kingdom."

"Which can be very annoying at times," Kate added.

"I can only imagine…" Bella trailed off.

"Well, I need to get rid of this," Sarita shook the little vial and stuck it back in her pants pocket, "and you need to get some rest,"

Sarita got up from the bed and smoothed her shirt. She gave Kate a pleasant smile as she walked over to the door where Kate was still standing.

"You guys can talk, but I want Bella resting, got it?"

"Absolutely," Kate said, a huge smile plastered across her face.

"Good, I will be back in a little while. It is a school night, Kate, so be aware of the time."

"Will do, Sarita, thanks,"

Sarita walked past Kate and exited the room, disappearing from sight. Kate bounded over to Bella as soon as Sarita had walked out. Bella had just situated herself in the bed when Kate flopped in next to her and gave her a tight hug.

"I'm so so so so so excited! I just knew you were an enchanter!" Kate squealed as she clutched Bella tightly.

"Okay, I seriously can't breathe," Bella gasped, trying to squirm out of Kate's embrace.

"Oh, right," Kate said, detaching herself from Bella, "you need as little stimulation as possible. My apologies, I forgot."

"It's fine," Bella said, though if her ribs could talk they would tell a different story, "so you're an enchanter too?"

"Yes indeed, one hundred percent, true blue through and through."

"And you talk to plants?"

"Mm-hmm," Kate agreed.

"So you really were talking to that plant on my desk earlier today?"

"Yes, but I did that two days ago. Today is Sunday."

"Sunday?" Bella asked disbelievingly.

"Yeah, you were out all Saturday. You had one nasty tricky."

"So I've been told," Bella said exasperatedly,

"You seem upset. Did you have plans for Saturday or something?"

"Yeah, to go back to Forks for a visit,"

"You just got here. Why would you head back so soon?"

"It's complicated," Bella said softly, sinking down into the mattress and folding her arms.

"Anything you want to talk about?" Kate asked hopefully.

"No, it's not important," Bella lied, "but, I do have a question for you. Is anyone else at Port Angeles High School an enchanter?"

"You mean, besides Sarita and me? Yeah, you remember Iggy?"

"Isn't that the boy we helped in the hallway?"

"Yes. He's an enchanter."

"No way!"

"He is!"

"Then why didn't he defend himself against those bullies?"

"Bella, seriously?" Kate asked, rolling her eyes, "we can't just do magic where everyone can see. Plus, every enchanter is different. It's not like we all have wands that we can wave around and get what we want. You have to work with what you've got and Iggy was not blessed with combative magic."

"Then what kind of magic was he blessed with?"

"Not sure," Kate admitted, "Iggy, much like his entire family, is very reserved. He doesn't like to show off like some of the other enchanters at school."

"Like who?"

"Well, like Lana and Lia, for example."

"Them too?!"

"Unfortunately," Kate lamented.

"And I suppose they have some great, far-reaching power that can crush everyone?" Bella asked sarcastically.

"Kind of. I don't hang out with them and never have, but I do know that their bond as twins is one of the greatest aspects of their magic."

"Now that you mention it, after I hit Lana with the lunch tray Lia clutched her face as if she had been hit."

"Makes sense," Kate agreed, "though I think that pales in comparison to their other talents."

"What other talents?"

"I'll point it out during school tomorrow and I…," Kate checked her wristwatch, "…should probably get going and let you rest."

"I have so many questions though,"

"Well, write them down and we'll talk about them tomorrow."

"I don't know how I'm supposed to sleep after learning all of this. Or if I even believe it," Bella said, letting out a large sigh and hitting her head against the pillow she was laying on.

Kate leaned up and put a hand on Bella's shoulder, "It _is_ a lot, but there are a lot of people to help you. And, I assure you, what you and I are is very much real."

Kate smiled at Bella before getting up from the bed and walking over to the door. She stopped for a brief moment and turned back towards Bella, "Have a good night,"

"You too," Bella responded, pulling up her covers.

Kate turned off the overhead light and closed Bella's bedroom door. Bella let out another sigh and put her hands over her face and took a deep breath. Her mind was spinning. The conversations she had had with Sarita and Kate had seemed so nonchalant that she could not help but wonder if there was truth to what they were saying or if they were both mentally ill. The memory of Edward still weighed heavily on her mind, his voice saying over and over not to trust 'them', and the more she thought about it the more it seemed that she knew he was referring to. But, could this apparition could be trusted? Was he really a 'tricky' as Sarita had described? Bella didn't know for sure and she didn't have the energy left to think about it further.

"We'll see what tomorrow brings," Bella whispered to herself, closing her eyes, turning on her side, and burying her head into the soft material of the pillow.

/\\\

Thanks for reading. I am almost to 1000 views and it makes me happy to know so many of you are enjoying my story. As always, read and review to let me know how I'm doing. We will be back at PA High School next chapter to meet some more enchanters and make some magic so stay tuned…

-D.C.


	9. Chapter 9

The next morning was a significant change from the mornings Bella had had since Edward's disappearance. She no longer felt the heavy weight of sorrow, guilt, and pain weighing her down and, instead, felt calm and light. It was a heavenly feeling and Bella relished it as she got ready for the day and actually produced a genuine smile as she smelled the pleasant aroma of pancakes emanating from downstairs.

Bella bounded down the hall and quickly down the stairs and did not spare a glance at her surroundings as she made her way to the kitchen where Sarita had just finished making a pile of fluffy, golden-brown pancakes.

"Morning," Sarita said sweetly, "feeling better today?"

"Much better," Bella responded.

"I'm glad to hear that. Pancake?"

"Of course!"

Sarita piled three of the large pancakes onto a plate and handed them to Bella. She walked over to one of the cupboards and pulled out a large glass container of syrup and carried it over to where Bella was sitting and placed it on the bar top.

"I hope regular syrup is okay. I prefer molasses but with everything that went on this weekend I didn't have time to pick any up."

"It's fine, thank you,"

"Of course," Sarita replied, helping herself to the remaining pancakes, "how do they taste?"

"Amazing," Bella replied honestly as she helped herself to another moist bite drenched in the gooey syrup, "who taught you to cook?"

"My grandmother, actually," Sarita said, cutting the pancake in front of her into smaller bite-size pieces, "she was the reason I didn't starve growing up. My mother wasn't very handy in the kitchen, I'm afraid."

"Was your mother an enchanter like you?" Bella asked as she poured more syrup on her remaining pancakes.

"She was indeed. My father was too. He's actually the one who taught me the majority of what I know."

"Like spells and stuff?"

"You could say that, but there's more to magic than spells. It's about being in tune enough with yourself to know what you need at any given moment and then finding a way to get it. Does that make sense?"

"Not really," Bella confessed, laying her fork on her plate as she chewed her last bit of flapjack, "it sounds, no offense, like an infomercial."

"It does, doesn't it?" Sarita said sadly, "It's honestly very hard to describe. Enchanters aren't as lucky as those _Harry Potter_ folks- we don't have wands that we can wave around and magically cause things to happen. When you add in the fact that all of us have different abilities it makes it even more convoluted and difficult to describe," Sarita sighed.

"Well, how did you learn to use your magic?"

"I was very young when I started utilizing my magic. My grandmother made sure of that. You see, in order to actually start using your magic you need someone else to jumpstart it."

"_Jumpstart_ it?"

"Yes, otherwise your magic and any abilities that come with it will stay dormant. It's similar to rabbits that inhabit areas where the climate changes. They are brown during the summer months but then turn white when winter comes. If these rabbits inhabited an area that was in a perpetual state of winter then they would stay white and would have no need to change their coat color. Magic works similarly. If there is no need for it then it never appears."

"How do you get it to appear?"

"There are several ways, but," Sarita glanced at her wristwatch, "we will have to talk about them later because we both need to get to the school."

/\\\

Upon arrival at the high school Bella was amazed that she found her way to her locker without getting lost. Though she was not enthused by the passersby whispering and gawking at her, Bella was more thankful that she did not experience another locker malfunction and was able to put away her things and collect her books for her morning classes.

As she shut the door to her locker with a clang, Kate appeared by her side.

"Morning, B!" she said excitedly.

"Hi," Bella responded calmly, "how are you, Kate?"

"Splendid," she replied, "it is Monday and Mondays are the best day of the week."

"Are you serious?" Bella asked as she stared at Kate's blissful demeanor, "Monday is the beginning of the school week- hardly something that anyone looks forward to."

"Oh, Bella," Kate sighed, leaning against the lockers, "Mondays are amazing because they are clubs days. And club day means forty-three uninterrupted minutes of being in the same room with the man I love." Kate sighed again and closed her eyes.

"What's club day?" Bella asked, trying to pull Kate out of her stupor.

"Oh, right, you wouldn't know about that," Kate pulled herself away from the lockers and motioned for Bella to start walking with her, which she did, "We have club days every Monday right after first period. It's time set aside for various student organizations to get together and plan activities or just to have fun. There's loads of clubs to pick from, but I suspect Sarita has already signed you up for her Actuarial Club that she runs."

"Why would she do that? And what's an actuary?"

"You'll have to wait until clubs period to find out. It's _way_ better than it sounds, though."

"How do you know for sure I'm in this Actuarial Club?"

"I can confirm by checking this," Kate stopped in front of a large bulletin board covered in pieces of white paper with various club names inscribed on each one. Kate searched the board until she found the Actuarial Club paper in the bottom left hand corner, "See," Kate pointed, "there's your name- Isabella Swann."

Bella examined the paper and saw her name at the bottom of the list of individuals in the Actuarial Club. Kate was also listed along with Iggy Mole, Dan Riddle, Lake Waters, and Lana and Lia Ferro.

"_They're_ in the _Actuarial Club_?" Bella asked Kate, pointing to the twin's names.

"Sadly, yes. But, don't worry, most of the time they don't participate. They prefer to spend the entire hour texting or painting each other's nails." Kate rolled her eyes.

"I'd rather avoid them," Bella admitted, "and their uncle for that matter."

"I don't blame you. Trimas has always been nasty. And now that you have maligned his nieces you're public enemy number one in his book. I don't envy you."

"Thanks, Kate," Bella said flippantly.

"Just being honest, but, anyway, it's five minutes until class starts and the last thing you want to do is to be late and give Trimas a reason to bully you. I'll see you during clubs. Good luck."

Kate gave Bella a sympathetic smile as she turned the corner and disappeared from Bella's sight. Bella wrote down the room number where the Actuarial Club was to meet and made her way to Mr. Trimas' class and arrived with two minutes to spare. As soon as the bell rang Mr. Trimas walked into the classroom and slammed the door behind him. This motion silenced the class and caused everyone to become mysteriously engrossed in the title page of their chemistry books.

"Anyone missing?" Mr. Trimas asked casually, glancing about the room.

No one said a word and no one made eye contact with Mr. Trimas. Even Bella sat low in her seat and avoided looking anywhere in Mr. Trimas' direction.

"I see our resident delinquent is back," Mr. Trimas sneered, "Swann, did you manage to finish the worksheets I assigned over your two-day vacation?"

Bella looked up and shook her head. Kate had neglected to retrieve the assignments from Mr. Trimas because she was too frightened to go and ask him for them. She had assured Bella that there wasn't any homework for his class because she had asked someone in a later period for the page numbers and problems and was told there wasn't any.

"Why am I not surprised?" Mr. Trimas asked aloud with mock surprise, "true to your animal surname you are not that bright, are you Swann?"

"I was told that there wasn't any homework," Bella replied, and she found herself surprised that she was able to remain calm and collected.

"And who told you that?" Mr. Trimas asked, leaning against his battered desk at the front of the classroom.

"The person who gathered up my assignments. They were told that you didn't assign any homework."

"By whom?"

"One of the students in your afternoon classes."

"Swann, you really are simple," Mr. Trimas chuckled, "I had a separate assignment for you to complete. In fact, it's sitting in the file cabinet in the back of the room. Do you really think I'd let a troublemaker like you off the hook with no work?"

Bella turned red. Everyone stared at her with looks of pity. One girl near Bella's desk had her head bowed and was uttering a quiet prayer as Mr. Trimas pushed off from his desk and made his way to the back of the room where a line of file cabinets was neatly arranged. He opened one of the drawers and began pulling out papers and slamming them on top of the metal top of the cabinet.

After a few minutes Mr. Trimas finally slammed the cabinet door shut and gathered up the small mountain of papers that had accumulated on top of the cabinet. He shoved them into a semi-neat pile and then walked over to Bella's desk and plopped them in front of her. He bent down next to her and poked the stack with his index finger.

"All of this, due tomorrow, no questions asked. If a single paper is missing, incomplete, or otherwise you may end up breaking Mr. Riddle's record for most detentions in a given year."

He stood up, brushed himself off and made his way to the front of the room. Once at the board he opened the class textbook and began writing on the chalkboard.

Everyone took this as a cue to open their notebooks and start copying down the notes he was writing. Bella looked at the stack of crisp white paper in front of her with a miserable expression etched across her face. She somberly grabbed her notebook from her things and began copying down the notes on chemical compounds Mr. Trimas was now expounding on.

/\\\

At the end of first hour Bella could not believe how much she was looking forward to Actuarial Club. Forty-three minutes with Mr. Trimas was torture of the sickest kind. Not only for Bella, but for everyone in the class that raised his ire. He seemed to take pleasure in berating everyone and everything. He had spent the last three minutes of class asking a girl named Beth why she wore so much makeup when all it did was accentuate the pimples she was trying to hide. Beth had left the class in tears and ran immediately to the bathroom while everyone else left muttering obscenities under their breath.

Bella made her way slowly to the room where Actuarial Club was to be held as the mound of papers she was carrying was quite heavy. She found the room at the far end of the school located next to the art classrooms that were all empty with their doors locked and the lights off. Bella walked into the single lit classroom and was greeted by a perky Kate.

"Howdy!" she said gleefully, "what's this paper for?" she asked.

"It's my make-up assignment for Mr. Trimas," Bella said bitterly, carrying the bundle over to an empty desk and setting it down.

"Holy cow! He really is something else, isn't he?" Kate said indignantly, "he probably killed hundreds of trees to provide you with all this."

"A small forest at least," Bella said, taking a seat in one of the desks that had been moved into a semi-circle around a teacher's desk at the front.

"One of these days…" Kate muttered, folding her arms and taking a seat next to Bella.

Moments later Iggy walked in with his head down and carrying a large armful of books similar to when Bella had first met him. He took a seat on the end and gently placed his books beside him.

"Hey Ig," Kate said kindly, "How are you today?"

"Fine," Iggy mumbled, "you?"

"I'm great aside from a slight cramp in my left foot. By the way, this is Isabella Marie Swann, but you can call her Bella, and she's the newest member of our club not to mention newest classmate. You met her briefly the other day when you tripped in the hallway."

"Hello," Iggy said quietly, leaning forward slightly and giving Bella a polite nod. Bella smiled back and was a bit taken aback by how magnified Iggy's brown eyes were with his thick glasses. With his accompanying unkempt red hair, round face, and pointed nose he looked very much like his surname suggested- a mole.

"Are you related to Mrs. Mole?" Bella asked politely.

"She's my mom," Iggy replied succinctly.

Kate leaned over to Bella and whispered, "He's not much of a conversationalist."

"I can believe that." Bella whispered back.

Although not much of one, the conversation between the three ended as two more boys walked in along with Lana and Lia who brushed by everyone and opted to sit in desks in the back of the room instead of sitting up front with everyone else.

One of the boys, tall and lanky with light brown hair and grey eyes, sat next to Iggy in the empty chair that separated him from Bella. The other boy, with an athletic build, dark crewcut blonde hair and dark blue eyes sat in the empty chair next to Kate. Bella reasoned that the blonde must be Lake Waters because Kate's face was becoming rosier by the minute and she was wringing her hands fiercely as she looked back and forth from her desktop over to Lake and back. Lake's attention was held by his cellphone and he did not notice Kate looking at him.

"Chill out, Annie Wilkes," one of the twins shouted from the back.

Kate turned around and shot a glare at the two blondes sitting by themselves in the back filing their nails.

"Hey Lana," the boy, who Bella believed to be Dan Riddle shouted back, "I've got an easy one for you today: how far can a dog run into the woods?"

"As if, Dan," Lana scoffed, "_I _wouldn't be caught dead in the woods."

"Or using your brain for that matter," Dan scoffed, "Ig, you know the answer?"

Iggy looked up from the book he had started to read and simply replied "Halfway, any farther and he would be running out." He then put his head back down and continued reading his book.

"Correct! One of these days I'll stump you."

"Unlikely," Iggy replied matter-of-factly.

"Hey Lake," Dan said, ignoring Iggy, "Here's one for you: What always runs but never walks, often murmurs, never talks, has a bed but never sleeps, has a mouth but never eats?"

"Really, dude?" Lake asked, looking up from his phone, "just 'cause your last name is Riddle doesn't mean you have to literally talk in riddles or ask us to solve them all the time."

"And just 'cause your last name is Waters doesn't mean you should be on the swim team or spend the majority of your time in large bodies of water- oh wait, you do. Pot meet kettle."

"The answer is river," Iggy said as he continued to read his novel.

"I thought you'd appreciate that one. It's a tribute to your older brother, River. _He_ likes my riddles." Dan said smugly, folding his arms and leaning back against his chair.

"River is also a moron," Lake replied, returning his gaze to his phone.

"At least he's a hot moron," Lia said from the back, giggling with her sister, "unlike his little brother who's just a self-righteous troll."

Kate turned around ready to defend Lake but stopped when she saw Sarita enter the classroom out of the corner of her eye. She turned back around and pouted while Sarita closed the classroom door and walked over to the desk and took a seat on top of it and set her bag down beside her. She gave everyone a warm smile as she glanced down at her clipboard and quickly glanced around the room to make sure everyone was present.

"Excellent, everyone is here," Sarita said excitedly, "okay, before we launch into things we obviously have a new face. I would like to introduce Bella to the group. She will be with us for the rest of the year. Now, she's new to _actuary science _so we all need to be aware and help her out. Let's go around the room and tell Bella our names."

"This is lame," Lana groaned, "we aren't in third grade."

"Some of us are certainly acting like it," Sarita replied coolly.

"Hey, _I'm_ not the one who goes around hitting people with lunch trays. That would be _your_ dear cousin."

"Lana, I do believe there are more ways than one to hurt someone without actually laying a hand on them. Would you like to educate us?"

Lana's lip curled as she looked away from Sarita and resumed filing her nails along with her sister.

"Anyway," Sarita said brightly, "Iggy, would you like to go first?"

Iggy looked up from his book, "I'm Iggy." He looked back down.

"Thank you –and put away the book please- Dan, you're next."

"I'm Daniel David Riddle at your service. Most folks call me Dan, but my nickname is the Riddler."

Lana and Lia snorted while Lake rolled his eyes.

"Thank you, Dan. Bella, I believe you and Kate know each other so let's move on to Lake."

"Hey," Lake said, giving a friendly wave toward Bella, "I'm Lake Waters. I'm on the swim team and student council. If you need help with anything let me know."

"Wonderful," Sarita said, beaming at everyone, "all right, let's get down to business. Bella, the first thing you need to know about Actuarial Club is that everything that happens in this room must never be spoken of outside of it, all right?"

"Okay," Bella agreed, though she was perplexed as why discussing things pertaining to actuarial sciences would be taboo topics outside of the room.

"As I said before, Bella is new to this. So, in order to get her started we need to prod her a little bit. Lake, would you like to help me with that?"

"Sure," Lake shrugged, getting up from his desk and walking up to the front.

Sarita opened her bag sitting beside her and pulled out a bottle of water. She handed it to Lake and he unscrewed the lid and began pouring the liquid out of the bottle and onto the floor. Bella began to lift up her feet to avoid the water but was halted by Sarita.

"Don't," Sarita said, "look at the floor and watch the water."

Bella looked down at the floor and felt her heart stop when she saw that the liquid that should have reached her feet by now was pooled in a perfect circle inches from her. In any other situation the water would have spread out in every direction and certainly would have hit her shoes, but this water was strikingly different. As Lake finished pouring out the water from the bottle it continued to stay in its perfect circle formation.

"All right, Lake, don't overdo it, please," Sarita said firmly.

"Never," Lake said slyly, "Bella, would you mind coming and standing by me?"

Bella got up nervously from her desk and carefully avoided the puddle of water. Lake extended one of his hands to Bella and she took it. She followed his lead as he bent down and bent down with him.

"All right, Bella, now I want you to focus on how you feel after Lake's next action, okay?" Sarita said.

Bella nodded and gulped.

"Don't worry," Lake said reassuringly to Bella, "it's painless."

Slowly, Lake took his free hand and placed it over the puddle. Bella watched Lake close his eyes and slowly lift his hand. She nearly fell over when she saw the water rise with him as though it was being raised via pulley. When he moved his hand to the right the water moved with him and began moving to the right. When he made a sharp veer to the left it followed him.

"How do you feel, Bella?" Sarita asked, watching her closely.

Bella tore her eyes away from the water that Lake had now caused to separate into two separate columns and looked over at Sarita.

"Well, uh, fine, I guess."

"You don't feel queasy, lightheaded, or peaceful?"

"No, just regular I suppose."

"Okay," Sarita said, "Lake, would you mind putting the water back into the bottle, please?"

"Sure, no problem,"

As if it were the most ordinary thing in the world Lake opened the top of the plastic bottle on the floor next to him, flicked his hand forward and the water began to reenter the bottle in a steady stream. Bella's mouth was agape as the last of the water reentered the bottle and Lake put the cap back on and handed the full bottle back to Sarita. The floor left no indication that water had ever fallen there.

"Thank you, Lake," Sarita said warmly, "you can both take your seats."

Lake and Bella both returned to their seats. Bella gripped the edges of her desk tightly as she replayed the images of Luke manipulating the water over and over in her head. If she had not seen with her own eyes she would have never believed it.

"Bella, as you probably figured out for yourself, this club has nothing to do with actuarial science and is actually a club where all of us can practice our magic."

"Then why do we call it Actuarial Club of all things?"

"Bella, seriously?" Dan asked, "Can you think of anyone who would be caught dead in the _Actuarial Club_ besides Iggy? Hell, I don't even know what an actuarial is."

"An _actuary_ is a person who computes premium rates, dividends, and risks according to probabilities based on statistical records," Iggy stated, "They often work for insurance companies by assessing clients and letting the insurance company know the level of risk they are taking when giving out loans."

"There was a green house. Inside the green house there was a white house. Inside the white house there was a red house. Inside the red house there were lots of babies. What is it, Iggy?" Dan asked, obviously annoyed.

"A watermelon." Iggy replied confidently.

"Damn it," Dan muttered, folding his arms and sulking in his seat.

"Language, Dan," Sarita said disapprovingly, "and thank you Iggy for clearing up for everyone what an actuary is. And yes, I gave the club this name intentionally to keep away any non-enchanters. Now, back to what Lake just demonstrated for us. Lake, as you probably figured out for yourself, has magic that is specific to the water."

"I can see that," Bella agreed, "but why did I have to hold his hand while he made it move?"

"In order to see if that's the kind of magic you have as well."

"How do you know it's not the kind of magic I possess?"

"The water didn't react to you," Sarita said simply, "if your magic was in tune with water then Lake would not have been able to control the water as well as he did. With that little of water there would have been competition between the two of you to control it and it would have ended up in a great big mess, most likely."

"Why? If there are two of us with the same magic why wouldn't our magic work together?"

"Good point," Sarita said, impressed, "it is possible, but it takes lots of practice over many years to be able to combine magic."

"Not in all cases," Kate remarked, motioning to the back of the room.

"Fair point," Sarita agreed, "there are exceptions. In most cases, though, it takes time and hard work to be able to combine magic."

"Then if my magic isn't in tune with water then what is it in tune with?"

"It's a lot of guess and check, unfortunately," Sarita sighed, "Dan can sympathize with you there."

"Oh yeah," Dan said indignantly, "my parents both have different kinds of magic and you should have seen the cluster-, I mean mess that it was trying to figure out what my specialty was."

"What is it?" Bella asked.

"Communicating with animals," Dan said proudly.

"Not that any really do. Last time he tried talking to an owl it pooped on him," Lia tittered.

"Hey Lia," Dan said, turning his head toward her, "I'm lighter than air but a million men can't lift me. What am I?"

"I've had enough of your stupid riddles," Lia retorted.

"And I've had enough of your bad attitude," Dan replied.

"The answer is a bubble," Iggy said in a bored tone.

"Enough!" Sarita said sternly, "we are here to _help _each other. I don't want another word from anyone unless I ask for it for the rest of period, understood?"

Everyone reluctantly nodded except for Lana and Lia who just sighed heavily and moved on to the next part of their beauty routine.

"Thank you, now, Bella, do you have any more questions about magic with our remaining time?"

"Well, Dan mentioned how he had two parents with two different kinds of magic and it took them a while to figure out what he had. I only have one parent with magic so wouldn't I by default take after that parent?"

"Well, I can only assume your mom practiced around you in some way. I mean, you've had at least had an initial jumpstart given what went on this past weekend. If you didn't pick up your ability from her it's unlikely you and her have the same type of magic."

"I don't think so," Bella admitted with a slight pang of embarrassment, "my mom never did any magic around me."

"You can't be serious," Sarita said incredulously, "if she didn't initially expose it to you then there's no way that you could have had-".

Sarita stopped mid-sentence and coughed. A look of worry formed across her face for a moment but was quickly replaced with a smile.

"No worries, Bella, we will figure it out. And I'm sure everyone here will be happy to help in any way they can."

The bell rang a few moments later and everyone began to gather up their things and leave the classroom. Lana and Lia, of course, were the first ones out and did not bother to acknowledge anyone as they exited. Dan also left relatively quickly, putting on his headphones before leaving the vicinity. Bella got up from her desk and walked over to the desk she had laid her large stack of chemistry homework on and was amazed to find it neatly stacked and arranged and all the problems on every sheet filled out to perfection.

"What's wrong, Bella?" Kate asked, standing by her side and looking at the papers.

"They're all finished," Bella said incredulously, flipping through the stack, "all of them are filled in. Who could have done it?"

"It was probably Iggy," Lake said, appearing on Bella's other side.

Bella looked around the room but Iggy had already slipped out along with Sarita.

"Why would he do this?"

"Probably because he hates Mr. Trimas as much as everyone else does," Lake shrugged, "just 'cause he's the smartest kid in school doesn't mean Trimas doesn't act like a douche to him like he does everyone else."

"That's so sweet of him," Kate said in a motherly tone.

"Well, I'll leave you two to it. I have my turn with Trimas now."

Lake nodded at both of them and left the room. Kate sighed dreamily as he left and then let out a squeal of delight.

"Isn't he the best?" she sighed, "he was absolutely brilliant with that water showcase today, wasn't he?"

"It was pretty amazing," Bella agreed.

"I wish my magic was as cool as his."

"Talking to plants is a pretty neat power," Bella pointed out.

"It is, but it can get awfully annoying. At least water doesn't talk to you, at least, I don't think it does. I'll have to add that to the list of the questions I'd ask Lake if we ever happened to have a real conversation together."

"We should probably get to class," Bella said, pointing to the clock and choosing not to venture into Kate's Lake fantasy.

"Oh, right! We mustn't keep Mrs. Mole waiting!"

Bella gathered up the stack of paper in front of her and followed a skipping Kate out of the room.


End file.
